


The Heart of the Matter

by Hermaline75



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Consent Issues, Demon Deals, Don't Fuck Or Die, Eventual Smut, Kinda, M/M, Magic, Mild Angst, Not quite that extreme but yeah, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sibling Incest, Slow Burn, some horror, that for plot reasons almost aren't but just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-26 06:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 29,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3840358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki buys a love spell from Mephisto to use on Thor.</p><p>But there's a catch.</p><p>There's always a catch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest with you - this one got weird.
> 
> It wasn't meant to, but it did.
> 
> We are somewhere in comics 'verse, but I don't know where. It's not meant to fit in any particular timeline.
> 
> As always, kudos, comments, questions, pointing out of typos and yelling about cliffhangers are all welcome and appreciated.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

It had taken years for Loki to get to the point of desperation he had ended up at when the idea first occurred to him. Centuries even. Eons of denying and betrayal and lying to himself.

Deep down he'd always known the truth, even if he pretended he didn't.

He wanted Thor. He loved Thor. So much so that he made himself sick with it. He needed, desperately needed to have his feelings returned.

And since he didn't know how to make that happen organically, he decided to do it artificially.

The problem with that was, of course, that he needed to ask for a little help from an old friend.

He'd shoved his furniture back for space to chalk the magic circle on his floor. Really the size wasn't strictly necessary, but it wouldn't do to let appearances slide. He gripped the book he'd stolen from the library, a worthless thing, some kind of simpering epic about some long-dead Asgardian warrior. It would do for this, surely.

The circle glowed as he began chanting, cheap effects really, but his guest would appreciate a proper entrance. With that in mind, he'd even prepared a little smoke screen for the right dramatic atmosphere.

A figure appeared in the swirling mass, coughing a little. Strange. You'd think someone who lived in Hell might have less sensitive lungs.

"Who dares summon the master of... Oh, it's you. What do you want? I was busy."

Loki forced a little smile, trying to ignore the way his heart was hammering in this chest at knowledge of what he was about to request.

"Dear Mephisto, surely the minions of the netherworld can cope without you for a little while? I have need of something. A mere trifle, nothing more. Just wondered if you could help me."

The demon's flaming eyes narrowed slightly. They'd played this game too many times and knew too many of each other's tricks.

"An old friend like you? I'm sure we can come to an arrangement quickly enough. What do you need?"

Loki swallowed thickly, willing his voice still. This was a small transaction, nothing more.

"I want a love spell," he said, aiming for a mild, casual tone. "Though I'm not sure that's really your area."

Mephisto grinned delightedly. "Always so high and mighty, Loki. You gods always think you have the monopoly on all good things. But consider all the sins that result of love - the lying, stealing, hurting, betraying, killing. A good love affair is a sure-fire way to stir up trouble. But as for your request, would this spell be for...personal use?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course. A spell of this kind should be matched to the one casting it."

He was lying. Maybe. It was hard to tell. And too much of a risk if he wasn't...

"Yes," Loki admitted. "Personal use."

Somehow the demon grinned even wider.

"Oh, Loki, Loki, Loki," he laughed. "Have your natural charms deserted you? Someone spurns your poor little wicked heart? Oh, how sad."

"Here," Loki said, thrusting the book at him. "Payment. You'll like this one."

Mephisto did like books. Loki wasn't sure exactly what he did with them, whether he really just enjoyed reading or if he traded them on in return for other favours.

"I have no doubt that it's a literary wonder. But come on, who is it for? Who dares deny the affection of Asgard's silver prince?"

"Never mind who," Loki snapped. "Just give it to me."

"You're right. Let me guess."

He made a great show of thinking before speaking again. "The enchantress, Amora? You have always been rather close to her. I can quite see how she may have captivated you, for you are so alike and you are such a vain thing. It would please you to love yourself. Or maybe not. Perhaps another has your gaze."

Loki tried to force the blood away from his face as he was scrutinized.

"The lady Sif? Oh, please don't tell me this is another feud between you and your golden brother. You mean to steal his once-beloved away? Dull, Loki, terribly dull. I had hoped for a little excitement, but no. Just another occasion where your incestuous obsession with Thor makes you..."

He stopped suddenly, eyes widening.

"Oh, it can't be true..."

There was no denying the flush on Loki's cheeks now as Mephisto laughed. "Just give me the spell."

"Oh, how wonderful. Your own brother. Well...adopted, half, whatever. How perfectly deviant of you. I knew there was a reason we were friends, though not even I could see that buried so deeply beneath denial upon denial there was such a sordid secret. Well done."

"Will you give me the spell or not?"

"Of course. But for this, I'm afraid that a little book simply won't do. I'll need something more special."

Dread crept up Loki's spine. "What do you wish?"

A seed appeared in Mephisto's left hand, small and green.

"If you feed this to him, he will be yours. His heart will open to you. And I ask only for one thing. The first time he fucks you, I get to watch."

Loki felt sick. The seed floated towards him, dancing lightly, tempting him.

"Only the first time," Mephisto said softly. "You won't even notice I'm there. Just take it, and have all that you desire for what is a minuscule fee when you think about it."

Just once. One time. And in exchange, the one thing that his heart screamed out for. Surely he could cope with that.

Loki reached out and closed his fist around the seed, nodding slightly. It would be worth it. He was certain.

The demon grinned again.

"How must I use it?" Loki asked. "Should it be chewed or...?"

"Just so long as he ingests it. That's the important thing. Hide it in his food, slip it in his wine, force it down his throat, it doesn't matter. In a week at most, it will take effect. No outward personality changes, just burning love for you. I wish you luck. And I look forward to payment. Will he take you on all fours, do you think, or lying on your back? I don't suppose it will matter much to you as you're screaming out. 'Oh, brother, yes, fuck me harder...'"

Loki scuffed the edge of the circle, sending Mephisto away cackling.

The seed was a little warm in his hand as he prepared for dinner. There was no sense in delaying. He'd waited long enough.

By the end of the week, Thor would be his.


	2. Chapter 2

His seat was empty, as usual.

It was the one to Thor's left, kept empty at all times. Rumour had it the chair was cursed, and maybe it was just a little. It wouldn't do to lose his place by Thor's side after all. But of course, he denied all knowledge of anything suspicious about it. If anyone else sitting there found themselves plagued by cold air and splinters, well, that was just one of those things. And if the chair was always mysteriously back in its place for meals, even if it had been moved to another room in the meantime, well, wasn't that odd?

Thor saw him approach and smiled before turning his attention back to the man on his right. He was an aged warrior who Loki vaguely recalled from their youthful training. Right now he seemed to be monopolising Thor's attention. Or perhaps his brother was just being polite and sitting through old stories. Either way, he would surely be distracted enough that slipping the seed to him should be easy. He would drop it into his food while he wasn't looking, discreetly feed him it. He just needed a reason to touch Thor's plate.

"More vegetables, Thor?" he tried. "There's plenty."

Thor looked round at him in surprise. It was not their habit to offer one another anything. Asking, yes, but offering...

"No," he said. "Thank you. I have enough for now. Are you all right? Excuse my saying, but you look a little tired. Are you well?"

"Quite well, thank you."

"And your appetite? You have not yet touched the salad. Look, it has those little red berries in it, your favourites."

Loki obediently took a forkful, meeting Thor's relieved smile. He seemed to always be trying to make him eat, worried that he wasn't getting enough, concerned because they didn't share the same voracious appetite. Even years ago, he would carry food up to Loki's room if he had not shown his face at dinner, too absorbed in whatever spell he was trying to master.

"You have to eat," he would say. "Otherwise what will you build your magic with? You need fuel, Loki."

And he was not wrong. It irked Loki a little that Thor's own brand of seidr had come so naturally to him. But then again, it was a primal, loud thing, not the delicate precision that Loki favoured and worked at, honing perfectly. Really it was barely seidr at all. And part of it had to be down to Mjölnir anyway. And it would be difficult for him to be the offspring of Odin and Frigga without inheriting a little natural talent...

The seed suddenly jumped in his palm, as though eager to get to work. But Thor was already glancing at him nervously, worried about him. Any sudden movements would be noticed.

He watched as Thor drained the last of his tankard. If he could just...

"Here, Thor, let me fill up your ale."

He didn't wait for an answer or the surprised thanks, just subtly slipped the seed into the vessel before filling it to the brim from the flagon.

He tried desperately not to watch Thor drink. The way his throat bobbed with every swallow, every tip of his wrist pushing him closer and closer.

His eyes widened as the final action neared, Thor tilting his head back, yes, do it, swallow, swallow...

Thor choked.

No, no, no, no!

Loki watched in horror as he coughed and spluttered, the old fighter on his right striking him on the back. But nothing seemed to come out and the attack soon subsided.

"Sorry," Thor croaked. "Something went down the wrong way."

"You'd think it had bones in it," the old man laughed.

Loki forced a smile and tried to sneak a look into Thor's tankard. Had he swallowed it? Would it work?

His heart beat hard in his chest at the thought of it.

Soon Thor would be his.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"Hmm?"

"You're staring at me."

The denial leapt to his lips as it had a thousand times before, but he caught himself in time. He was staring. There was no point in pretending otherwise.

"Just making sure you are quite recovered. Let it not be said the Crown Prince of Asgard cannot handle his drink."

Thor grinned. "Another then!"

"Allow me."

There was no sign of the seed in the dregs. He had to have taken it. And with the tankard back in his hand, Thor draped an arm over Loki's shoulders.

"Here's to you, Loki," he said. "And here's to brotherhood, eh?"

Loki toasted obediently, but inwardly fumed. The familiar gesture had got his hopes up, but instead of an invitation to private chambers, he received a hefty reminder that what he was doing was wrong. He could almost hear Mephisto laughing at him and his twisted desires.

Thor's arm remained where it was for the rest of the meal, only moving when he announced his plans to retire for the evening.

"I'll accompany you," Loki said, leaping to his feet.

He drifted very close to Thor, hoping for an arm to be slung around his shoulders again or perhaps his waist, but none was forthcoming.

"Pleasant dreams, Loki."

"Goodnight, Thor. See you in the morning."

"I doubt it. I intend to train most of the day, from dawn."

"I shall see you in the morning."

Thor grinned and shrugged.

"It's been years since I last saw you in the training yards, that's all."

"I train as hard as anyone."

"Yes, I know, it's just... You don't train with everyone else."

Well, of course not. He wouldn't put up with the accusing glares of Thor's friends who acted as though he was a pest at best and a traitor at worst.

"If you don't want me there..."

"I didn't say that. I would be happy, honoured even, if you would join me. It will be like old times."

He patted Loki vaguely on the shoulder, frowning slightly, like he was seeing him for the first time in months and noting changes.

Was this it? Had the spell worked? Loki held his breath, willing Thor to take another step, to lean in, touch him, to do something to close the distance between them.

"I'll see you in the morning then," Thor said, turning away to his own door.

Loki burned as he stalked away to his bed.

What must he have looked like, standing stock still like a rabbit trapped in the hunter's gaze? Was it any wonder if Thor backed down, thinking him afraid? Or perhaps the spell had simply not worked yet. Mephisto had said it could take up to a week.

But surely therefore it could take effect at any time.

There was nothing for it. He'd have to stick to Thor like a limpet.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki woke late.

He always woke late. It was his habit. Normally he would come to in the mid-morning, occupy himself for a little while with vague fantasies of Thor if he had time and eat a mixture of breakfast and lunch before actually starting his day. He was normally up most of the night anyway, so thought of it more as just keeping different hours than sleeping in.

The sunlight coming in his window had him bolting from his bed. Thor had said dawn. It was long past now. And at any moment, his heart might blossom and he'd realise that Loki was all he was missing.

He wanted nothing more than to see the realisation spread across Thor's face.

Sprinting down the stairs, out of the palace and across the courtyard, he paid no mind to the people running for cover at his approach. They'd learned after a few centuries of unfortunate experiments that if the second prince was moving at speed, then something was probably about to explode.

He skidded into the training ring, panting a little, to find Thor dispatching yet another wooden foe with Mjölnir. He span round at the sound of footsteps and grinned widely.

"Thought you'd changed your mind," he said.

"No. Merely...taking a morning run to warm up."

Attendants scrambled to set out Loki's preferred targets, the ones with many detachable limbs that could be sliced off with a well-thrown dagger.

Not that Loki was throwing particularly well. His aim was consistently off, distracted by having Thor twisting and grunting next to him.

This problem was only exacerbated by the fact that they were both shirtless, Thor by choice and Loki because his haste to get out here meant he hadn't even dressed properly. His eyes kept drifting over to the slightly bronzed skin, the muscles moving with every strike, the occasional bead of sweat slipping down and down...

If he'd known training with Thor would be like this he'd have come out more often, never mind Thor's usual companions and their not-so subtle comments.

Companions who were conspicuously absent today he noted. Had Thor requested a private session just for them? And if he had, what did that mean? That he wanted his brother to feel comfortable, away from people he didn't care to train alongside, or that he wanted them to be alone?

And if he wanted them to be alone...

Thor hefted Mjölnir with a particularly gutteral sound, finally breaking through the heart of one of his wooden figures. Loki somehow buried a dagger in a nearby tree.

"Do you remember when we were young?" Thor asked as he retrieved it. "And how we used to train then?"

"I used to cast illusion monsters for you to fight. They had no real forms, but you liked to hurl yourself at them nonetheless."

"I wondered if you might...care to revisit those days. Both our skills have much improved since then. I'd love to see the calibre of creature you can produce now."

Loki snorted. "I haven't cast monsters for years. Unless you would like to hunt snakes or rats..."

And suddenly an idea was forming.

"Or me."

He summoned a double to his side, both of them squaring up to their brother.

Thor seemed nonplussed, laying Mjölnir carefully at the edge of the yard. "Why would I want to fight you? We're getting on well for once."

"I didn't say 'fight'," Loki said through the lips of a third figure he'd brought into existence on the other side of Thor. "I said 'hunt.' Find the real me, if you can."

Thor grinned in realisation as he was suddenly surrounded by a dozen or more identical figures. He walked in a circle, making play at examining them before lunging suddenly at the real Loki.

Or rather the double that was standing exactly where the real Loki used to be. He'd switched with it the second Thor's back was turned. He heard the chuckle that escaped Thor's throat at being playfully tricked and set his doubles running in all directions.

Thor laughed in the centre of a swirling sea of Lokis, grabbing at them at random, like a large bird of prey in amongst a flock of agile starlings.

Loki made them run faster and faster, spinning and twirling, hair whipping around their faces as they approached and backed off. And then he spared a glance at Thor.

He'd always thought of his brother as graceless, too cumbersome, too forceful to be lithe. But watching him bend and leap in his effort to capture his quarry, there was no denying that he had a kind of style to his movements. Like a wolf or a bear, there was something beautiful about seeing his strength move.

Loki barely noticed Thor's eyes flick towards him before he lunged, an arm wrapping around his waist and dragging him down.

Thor took the fall himself, hitting the ground with a thump before rolling over to rest on top of his brother.

And, oh, Norns, now Thor was on top of him, his face so close, their bare skin rubbing together, the warmth of Thor's flesh so wonderful and surely this was it, this was the moment, he was going to lean in and...

Thor laughed.

"Quite a dance you lead, Loki," he said. "But I have you now."

Yes, yes, have me, take me...

"How did you know I was the real one?"

"You paused for a moment. None of the others did. It was just enough of a difference to draw my eye." 

He pushed himself up and Loki only just resisted the urge to drag him back down and wrap his legs around his waist. Not yet. He would be patient.

"I fear I must bathe," he said, reaching out to help his brother up. "I'm not fit to be seen right now."

"May I join you?"

After all, at least then he'd get an unadulterated view of Thor nude, something he hadn't in some time. And maybe the sight of himself likewise un-attired would stir Thor's blood and he would succumb right there in the baths, their damp bodies pressed together finally, as they were surely meant to be.

Thor looked at him a little strangely for a moment, then laughed. "I meant to use my private baths, I'm afraid. Maybe next time?"

He slung an arm around Loki's waist as they walked back up to the palace though, the hand cupping his hip warm and firm against his skin. An unmistakably comfortable gesture. Surely, it could only be a matter of waiting.

And Loki was good at waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, actual plot next time.


	4. Chapter 4

Loki spent the rest of the week by Thor's side in a way he hadn't since childhood. And his brother seemed perplexed and surprised, but not upset by this new development. His familiar touches continued, but remained just that - familiar. Not seductive, not loving, not overly intimate. Just familiar.

It was driving Loki mad.

Finally, once the seventh day had passed and Thor had once again vanished into his own chambers with a cheerful goodnight, Loki summoned Mephisto.

No fireworks. No ceremony. The most basic of magic circles.

"It's not working," Loki spat, pacing the room. "You sold me a defective spell."

"You wound me. My produce is always high quality."

"Look around. Does this room contain two sated gods in a joyous incestuous union, or one duped trickster? Why didn't it work? Why hasn't he fallen?"

Mephisto pursed his thin lips.

"There are a few possible reasons that it might not have been effective. I won't insult you by suggesting it had to do with instructions not being followed correctly. But otherwise... Either Thor is immune to it, due to his own natural magical field, or..."

"What? Or what?"

"No, it's ridiculous..."

"Tell me!"

A twisted smile settled on the demon's lips. "Or Thor is already in love with you. You can't cast a love spell on someone already infected with it."

Loki's eyes widened. No, it couldn't be. It had to be Thor's storm seidr blocking it. The seed burnt up by lightning. There was no conceivable way that Thor might already... He wouldn't dare to hope.

"Still, your spell was ineffective. The deal's off."

Mephisto's face dropped into a deadly serious expression. "I delivered a spell. You failed to choose a suitable victim. My side of the bargain was fulfilled and requires payment."

"Then I want to renegotiate."

He felt the heat against his face as Mephisto moved close to him. 

"No deal. You agreed, thus the terms shall stand. Whether it happens tomorrow or after millenia have passed, I will watch your first coupling as discussed."

"Why? Why do you want to?"

His laughter carried the scent of sulphur into Loki's nostrils.

"Why do I do anything, Loki? Because it will please me. I will enjoy seeing you at your most vulnerable, laid bare before one who always saw right through your masks. And I will enjoy seeing you cry out, the way your body will betray you and leave you open to scrutiny. But mainly I want it because I think it will be an erotic thing to watch."

Loki stared at him in horror. "You mean..."

"Yes. Of course. Don't feel too flattered. Lust falls under my domain after all. Not one, but both princes of Asgard, together? Gold and onyx united in a heated, panting, desperate mess of limbs and longing? Hot brother-on-brother action? It would be the scandal of the age. How could I possibly refuse?"

Loki shuddered. He'd thought he could handle it, but suddenly the mere thought of someone else looking in on such a private moment, of keeping something hidden from Thor at a time when they should be completely free from lies and concealment, of knowing forever that it had not been the secret meeting between the two of them that he had fantasised about for so long... He felt the bile rise in his throat at it.

"There must be something else you desire," he said desperately. "Something else that could also be acceptable payment."

Mephisto chuckled. "Many, many things. But none of them are yours to offer."

"And when has that ever stopped me before?"

"When indeed? Very well, there are two acceptable substitutions for my given fee..."

"Three is more usual."

Perhaps he ought not to have said that. The look Mephisto shot him burned like a candle held too close, warning him that he was trying his luck.

"You're quite right. Where are my manners? I will waive my fee in exchange for three possibilities. Firstly, the key to the temple at Mitrenia in Alfheim."

Loki frowned. "There is no temple at Mitrenia."

"Maybe not one that you know about. I lost something of mine there some time ago and the key is nowhere to be found. Get it for me and I'll consider your debt repaid."

"A mythical key to a lost temple? I suppose I should not have expected fair play from you. Next."

"Second option - let me take payment from your flesh."

"Cut it up, you mean?"

"Please, have some imagination. I would use you body for my own gratification. I doubt you've ever been taken by one such as me. It's quite the memorable experience apparently."

Loki swallowed thickly, trying not to think about how it would feel to have burning flesh pressed against and around and _inside_ him.

"And the third?" he asked, not quite managing to keep his voice steady.

"Simplicity itself. Never have sex with Thor."

He cackled as Loki's jaw dropped. "Your frustration and pain will be payment enough. But somehow I doubt that you will choose this option. And with the lines now redrawn as requested, I will bid you farewell. Evil might never sleep, but I've grown rather fond of a bed and a little shut-eye."

He vanished, leaving Loki alone with his despair.

He stared helplessly at his ceiling in the dark.

Could he resign himself to giving up hope of ever being with Thor? It would be the most sensible option, clearly. No pain or suffering. Well...less suffering anyway.

Giving of himself in exchange for privacy? The very thought made his body tense. It would surely be agony, both physically and mentally. No. It was certainly no real option.

The key then? He had never heard of a temple at Mitrenia. Then again, Mephisto was far older than him, could remember almost back to the birth of the realms themselves. Perhaps there had been one once or perhaps it was hidden...

He scowled, rolling over in disgust. It was all academic without Thor anyway. If his wretched storm magic had destroyed the spell there was no hope anyway. The celibate option would be forced on him.

And if Thor already returned his love...

He sighed heavily, unable to get comfortable.

If only there was some way to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

"Loki!"

Thor's voice rang through the library making Loki jump. He'd been in there all morning looking fruitlessly for information on temples of Alfheim and any mention of Mitrenia at all. It wasn't the biggest or most important place in the realm. Frankly it was barely a village. It had very little to attract visitors that he could see. Other than on maps, he could find few references.

Thor bounded up behind him. 

"I missed you at breakfast," he said. "And it's nearly lunchtime. Come and eat with me. You can't read...whatever it is you're reading without energy."

He could have snapped. He could have told his brother to leave him be. But really a break sounded very appealing and he wasn't making any progress...

A smile spread across Thor's face as he stood up and obediently headed for the door.

"Studying something interesting? New tricks?"

"No," Loki said, too tired from his restless night to even be annoyed at having his magic treated so lightly. "I'm thinking about going to Alfheim."

"By yourself? When?"

Loki glanced across to look at him, surprised to find him looking upset.

"A couple of days' time. Just planning at the moment, that's all. Nothing definite."

Thor frowned. They continued to the dining hall in uneasy silence, which Loki decided to break once they'd sat down with a considered change of subject.

"Have you ever noticed being immune to seidr, brother?"

"Am I immune now? Have you finally cast so many curses on me that they've stopped working? Have I developed resistance to it?"

He laughed and Loki forced a smile.

"No, I'm serious. I just happened to read that people with natural affinities, like yours with the storm, sometimes find they are defended against some spells."

"Huh. I have never noticed. You used to practice on me all the time, and that usually worked. Perhaps I'm not one of the lucky ones."

Maybe not. Clearly he had to test this theory. With a twist of his fingers, Loki tried a gentle press at Thor's senses. Nothing strong. Barely a spell at all, really.

He didn't know what he was feeling when Thor's head jerked up. It had worked then. So Thor...

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"The birds. I've never heard them sing so clearly."

"Hmm. Perhaps you've just never noticed before."

Thor smiled at the song only his temporarily sharpened ears could hear and set about buttering a slab of bread from the table.

Loki's stomach churned, but with excitement or nerves he wasn't sure. That spell had been nothing. If Thor's power didn't stop it, Mephisto's seed would have walked right through him.

But that left only one explanation for why it hadn't worked, an explanation that couldn't possibly be true.

He barely registered Thor pressing another piece of bread into his hand, biting and chewing methodically.

"Feeling all right?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, you're eating dry bread."

Loki swallowed. "Would you be upset if I went to Alfheim?"

"I'd be upset if you didn't invite me to accompany you. It's been years since we last went adventuring together. It could be fun. What do you seek there anyway?"

"Oh, nothing important. A possibly mythical key to a possibly non-existent temple possibly containing riches possibly untold."

Thor grinned at him. "You always did have the power to tempt me."

There was a beat that seemed to last for eons. Loki felt his pulse quicken at Thor's words, the potential meaning in them.

He looked directly into blue eyes. "Did I?"

And suddenly Thor looked startled, confused almost by Loki's serious tone. He coughed and turned back to his food, refusing to meet Loki's gaze.

Well, what did that mean? Could it be? Could Thor love him?

How do you find stuff like that out?

"Any plans for this afternoon?"

Thor took a long time to respond.

"Not sure. Haven't decided."

"You're more than welcome to join me in the library. Help me find my lost temple."

A smile, but it seemed strained. "No, I have complete faith in you finding all the clues we'll need. I'll see you at dinner perhaps."

And with that he was gone, positively fleeing Loki's presence.

The librarian was a little surprised to see him gathering more books to the small, straining table he was occupying, especially since they were from a different part of the shelves entirely, but didn't pry.

Love stories. Romances. A particularly interesting text which included pictures and instructions.

They all had one answer to his problem and it was the one thing he didn't want to try.

"Speak to your beloved," they said. "Ask if your feelings are reciprocated."

But that would involve revealing his own...

Could he play it off as a joke? Just in case? A harmless bit of nonsense, a bit of fun. That way he could speak from the heart and if Thor didn't feel the same way then he could laugh and laugh and mock Thor for falling for his joke and then leave to bury his heart in pieces.

He'd have to pick his moment, that was all.

Dinner was slightly off, with none of the laughter or cameradery that the past week had brought to them. Thor seemed troubled and barely mumbled a good night when he stood up to leave, Loki having to rush to catch him.

"Thor! Wait."

A sigh. "My apologies. I am very tired. Goodnight, Loki."

"No, wait. I have something I must ask you."

Thor stopped outside his chamber door, leaning heavily against it.

"Go on, then. If you must."

Loki's tongue was suddenly made of wet wool, heavy and thick in his mouth. All his pretty phrases, his half-revealed secrets, his plausible deniability vanished from his mind.

"Thor, do you love me?"

The silence stretched out between them horribly.


	6. Chapter 6

Thor tried to laugh the question off, but his mirth didn't reach his eyes.

"Of course I do," he said. "You're my brother. It would be strange if I did not."

"That's not what I meant. I mean... Do you love me like something other than a sibling as well?"

And now Thor looked scared, more afraid than Loki had seen him look for years. That was the face of childhood nightmares, of adolescent mistakes that would lead to punishment. The face of banishment.

"Loki, if I've ever made you feel uncomfortable or behaved inappropriately towards you then I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"No! No, it's not... You haven't done anything wrong. But if you do love me then you should probably know that I do too. I love you back. As something else than a brother."

He'd said it. Out loud. And the world had not ended.

Thor seemed to be in a mild state of shock and Loki's heart sank. Of course he didn't feel the same. Of course such perversion would not come so easily to him. It was ridiculous to think it would. His fear was not about being found out, it was about being mistaken, at having done something that made Loki think such unthinkable things. And now he didn't know what to say or how to act in the face of such a disgusting admission.

"Never mind," Loki heard himself say. "It was stupid of me to ask."

He turned away, preparing for a night of pain and solitude, the first of many, stretching out for the rest of his wretched life.

A hand closed around his wrist, pulling him back, an arm tentatively sliding around his waist. Thor was looking at him like he was desperately lost, clinging to the hope of a light burning in the distance.

His eyes flicked between Loki's eyes and mouth, before he seemed to come to a decision.

He leant forward and pressed their lips together.

The sound of his own heartbeat deafened Loki, blood rising to his face as he helplessly wrapped his arms around his brother's neck, pushing forward, striving for more.

The first touch of Thor's tongue against his had him moaning happily, unafraid that someone might hear. Thor still seemed to be aware of their surroundings though, scrabbling at the door behind them to move somewhere more private.

He didn't try to dislodge Loki, merely turned them and walked him backwards towards the bed, the two of them tumbling down in a mess of limbs.

"I've wanted this for so long," he mumbled. "I've dreamed about it. I feel like I'm going to wake up any second."

Loki laughed in disbelief, lunging back towards him. They were desperate, teasing, forceful, Thor's hands running over Loki's flesh, Loki trying to give back as good as he got.

Thor's breathing grew harsh, placing little nips to his brother's lips as he started to undo Loki's clothes, reaching inside to explore his body and rolling his hips against him.

Loki's back arched, trying to get more attention, moaning as a thumb skirted his nipples followed quickly by a mouth sucking at each one in turn, feeling the unmistakable press of Thor's arousal and inhaling the bewitching scent of...

Sulphur. Brimstone. Hell itself.

"Stop," he whispered, breaking his own heart. "Thor, stop."

A confused blond head came into view, looking for all the world like Loki had just kicked him. 

"I thought you wanted this."

He pulled Thor close, kissing him deeply.

"I do," he said. "I want it, I want you. But I can't, not yet."

"Why not?"

Well, he could hardly admit what he'd done, Thor might never touch him again. Better to sort it out quietly himself. But then what reason could he give for calling a halt...?

"Loki, have you...ever had sex before?"

What? Thor couldn't seriously think that he was some blushing virgin after that display. He'd nearly caught Loki in the middle of trysts more than once, had he forgotten that? Did he think only he got offers because of his station? What a question. But then again...

"No," Loki lied. "I never have. And I want it to be you, I want to do it with you, I really do, but I need to be sure that I'm ready first."

Thor smiled down at him, looking so understanding, making Loki melt. He wished Thor had really been his first. Instead he'd found a replacement, a stand-in, a strong blond man to fuck him hard and fast. It hadn't been great. He'd taken to looking after himself most of the time after that, and though sometimes he had affairs with women, it was a simple fact that no man could match Thor.

"That's all right," Thor said. "You tell me if and when you're ready. Take all the time you need. I'll wait for you."

He kissed Loki again, more chaste this time, rolling off him and heading for his privy. Loki strained to hear him dealing with his erection and cursing that demonic bastard and his own stupidity. If he'd just asked instead of trying to force Thor to love him, they would be in very different circumstances right now. Happier circumstances. More naked ones.

There was a grunt from the bathroom and a few moments later, Thor reappeared.

"I'm going to go to bed," Loki said. "My own bed."

"Very well. Sorry if I was too eager."

"Not at all. Thank you for your patience."

"I love you."

Oh, it was unfair that those words made him weaken and want to run right back to Thor's arms.

"Yes. And I love you."

He tried his best to walk across the hall in a way that didn't reveal his still throbbing hardness and flopped backwards onto his bed, reaching to undo his breeches and take himself in hand, stroking hard and fast.

This could have been Thor's hand, Thor kissing him and whispering that he was beautiful and loved, taking his body to new heights.

As it was, his climax barely registered, merely a physical fact.

The sooner he could get that thrice-cursed key and pay off his debt, the better.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh, dear," a mocking voice crooned before Mephisto had even fully materialised. "Are we feeling a little frustrated?"

Loki snarled and lashed out, his wrist easily caught in a burning grasp. He yelped, pulling his arm protectively to his chest, surprised not to find a mark.

"If you think I'm having sex with you after that demonstration..." he began.

Mephisto shushed him. "My flesh doesn't always singe. Only when it needs to. And it doesn't look like you'll be having sex with anyone for a while. My congratulations on your restraint."

Loki flushed. "You watched us?"

"Only when it seemed you were unable to resist. From when he started pulling at your clothing like an eager puppy given a new game. The moment you called a halt, I looked away. I'm no voyeur to private conversations."

Thoughts of Thor leaving the room with only relief on his mind bubbled up, providing a potential escape route.

"Clarify for me," Loki said carefully. "What exactly counts as sex? And what exactly counts as the first time? I would like to know all the terms precisely."

A scowl. "Don't try to wriggle out of my bargain, little trickster. Any sexual act performed for mutual pleasure counts, but only full penetrative sex between you and Thor - in either configuration - qualifies as the discussed 'first time' after which my ability to watch as I please will cease."

"That makes no sense!"

"But it does stop you trying to use fully clothed paired masturbation or reciprocal oral sex to rob me of what is now my right. I would happily watch those acts too, but they would not wipe out your debt."

Loki groaned in annoyance. Why did he always get into these messes? Why was it always him? Why did the universe hate him so?

"This key, then," he said. "Any idea where it might be found?"

"If I did, I wouldn't need you to find it, now, would I?"

"And you want it to recover what exactly from this temple?"

Mephisto patted his head condescendingly. "None of your business."

"Can you actually give me any helpful information, or are you just going to gloat? Who was it even a temple to?"

The demon's grin returned. "You're finally asking the right kind of question. Though it was not a 'who' so much as a 'what'."

He waved a hand and brought a display of dancing flames before Loki's eyes. As he watched, they took on shapes, becoming buildings and figures, constantly shifting and changing.

"Have you ever been to Mitrenia?" Mephisto asked.

"No. There's nothing there to interest me. Not much there at all from what I can tell."

"Then you are a rarity, to have been to Alfheim and not felt yourself drawn to it. People generally are, you see."

"Why? It's just a run-down village in the desert."

"True, that's what it is now. But it was once home to one of the elves' most successful death cults."

Loki frowned. "The elves of Alfheim have never worshipped death. Svartalfheim on the other hand, maybe. They use it as part of their warfare, selling their souls and lives for great strength and power. It's basically the same kind of magic as healing stones, just...backwards."

"You sound disapproving, like your beserkers do not perform a highly similar act. Then again, I suppose you have little love for Asgard's warriors. I assume Jotunheim has its own traditions, though I've never bothered to find out. It doesn't seem important."

Loki ignored the insult to his heritage. "It's not the act I disapprove of, but the stupidity. Why give something of yourself up at all? Why make that deal when it's sure to end badly for you?"

"Of course. You'd never be caught making an unwise bargain. Truly, you are an example to us all in thinking one's actions through and preparing for any eventuality."

He laughed at Loki's rage.

"Right, so this supposed death cult at Mitrenia. What happened to them?"

"What do you expect? They died. But the religion itself was fascinating. Such a long-lived race, even beating yours I believe. They easily became hooked on death. The ultimate departure. Not always permanent, as you and I know, but they were among the first to try, the first people to attempt to cheat death completely. They wanted immortality, true immortality, and thus they studied death."

Loki felt a slight chill run down his spine as he watched the flames twist and move.

"How?"

"Murder. Got to be close to your object of research after all. They performed some of the the foulest and cruelest of killings. They believed that all forms of death should be studied and understood. Death at any age. Death through violence, aging, burning, freezing, suffocation, childbirth, poison, illness, heartbreak, anything you can imagine and more."

The images moved like nightmares, half glimpsed and all horror.

"And they were found? Killed for what they'd done?"

"Oh, no. They thought they'd found the solution. The key to immortality. Rather unfortunately for them, they were wrong. Mass suicide is so very, very messy..."

Loki shivered at the images in front of him as the figures began to destroy and consume themselves, but found himself unable to look away. A dark chuckle washed over him.

"It has you, doesn't it? The hook. That's why people go to Mitrenia. It's primal. There's something about that place of death that draws the blood. People just can't help themselves."

Loki put a hand through the barely warm flames, sending the images spiralling into ash.

"So the temple was destroyed?"

"Hidden. Obviously, something so sinister does rather upset a culture who think themselves so pure and good. So they hid it. You will not find mention of it in any publicly available book, and certainly not the ones you can access here in Asgard. But it is there and may be found. Get me the key and privacy is yours. Unless the temptation of your brother grows too strong, of course. And just succumbing to Thor's charms is the easier option. I will not mock you for choosing it. I do however reserve the right to mock you for any amusing faces or noises you may make."

A smirk as he walked back to the circle to make an appropriate exit.

"Has anyone ever told you how well embarrassment suits you?" he asked. "Those pale cheeks were practically made to blush. I should mortify you more often."

He vanished with a laugh, leaving Loki with only unanswered questions and intense frustration. Again.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki was preparing for his trip the next day, adding an extra sharp edge to his daggers when Thor knocked and wandered into his chambers without invitation. He very rarely actually waited for permission. Sometimes Loki remembered to be annoyed about it.

"Just wondering if you were too busy to... Oh."

He'd caught sight of the open bag, packed with several days' worth of clothes and piles of miscellaneous magical items. After all, Loki wasn't sure what to expect from a hidden death cult temple.

"You're packing," Thor said, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Correct."

"But I thought... I thought we agreed we would go to Alfheim together."

Loki held up the blade he was working on, letting it catch the light.

"Hmm? No... You said you'd like to come, but refused my offer of helping with the research and we said no more about it. I had thought to perhaps mention it at dinner, but you seemed distracted and after dinner... Well, our lips were rather busy with more enjoyable things."

Thor smiled at him almost shyly, evidently pleased that Loki was not having second thoughts about their actions. The idea flashed through Loki's mind that he might have taken such a full bag as a sign of running away, regretting what they'd done and fleeing and probably burying his dagger in Thor's side just for good measure.

"But anyway," Loki continued. "Having thought it over some more, I think it best if you don't trouble yourself."

And now Thor's face fell.

"Why not?" he demanded. 

"I don't think you'll enjoy it. Looking for the ruins of a temple that probably doesn't exist and is probably long robbed of anything interesting even if it can be found? You'll be bored."

"Not with your company I won't," Thor purred in a way that automatically made a smile tug at the corners of Loki's mouth.

But now Thor was peering into his bag.

"You're expecting some kind of...magical problem?" he asked.

Loki sighed. "I'm just trying to prepare for any eventuality."

"Look at this stuff. Some of these are really dangerous ingredients. Isn't criolia rare and unstable?"

"I'm amazed you know what it is at all, frankly. Not many people have heard of it."

"Fandral once dared me to drink something from the stores and the tutors caught me. I'm not sure if they were angrier with me for endangering my life or the bottle. Facts kind of stuck with me after the lecture."

And now Thor's eyes were on his hands and the careful way he was handling the whetstone, a frown clinging to his face.

"Loki... Are you expecting this to be a dangerous trip?"

He didn't feel like dignifying that question by answering it. The blade of this particular dagger could practically cut the silence.

"I'm coming with you."

"Thor, no."

"I am coming with you."

Loki rolled his eyes, aiming for his most petulant tone. "I'm a big boy. I can look after myself. You don't need to protect me. I can handle this."

"I never suggested that you couldn't, but I am coming with you just in case something happens. Two sets of arms are better than one."

No, no, no! If Thor came along and they were sharing sleeping quarters, he would be sure to give in to temptation and straddle his brother in the night, riding him till sun up as Mephisto watched and cackled in the dark. Thor deserved better than that. Their first time together ought to be between themselves alone. That was the way it was meant to be.

But now Thor was in front of him, gently taking the dagger from his grasp to lay it on the table and cupping his neck, gazing softly at him and saying something...

Oh, Norns, what was he saying?

"...weak. You know I don't think that. But I want to be on your side, _by_ your side. You and me, together forever, facing all foes. I love you. Let me accompany you."

He was leaning in and Loki had to hold back a moan, had to force himself to simply return the kiss and not fall to his knees. Thor's arms wrapped around him, surging forward, demanding and pliant at the same time, Loki returning everything right back at him.

"Mm. You're good at that," Thor mumbled afterwards.

 _I'm a great fuck too_ , Loki wanted to say. But instead he just nodded and muttered something about Thor coming to Alfheim if he really wanted.

He was treated to the blinding light of his brother's smile.

"When do we go? I'll pack immediately."

He left and Loki's mind whirled. He'd have to think of something to distract him and soon. He couldn't risk the truth of this mission being known.

He racked his brain, moving automatically to gather medicines and antidotes, bandages, poultices against burns and stings and bites. From the images Mephisto had shown him, there was no such thing as 'too careful'.

At least with Thor coming along too, no-one would question them. Thor was often gallivanting all over the realms. And since they'd already kissed more than once... Well, he was unlikely to bring any friends with him. It would be just the two of them, out in unfamiliar territory. Which was far more pleasing than any thought had the right to be.

He had a map of Alfheim spread out over his desk when Thor returned.

"Planning the route?" he asked.

"Yes. Our eventual destination is here, the village of Mitrenia."

Thor frowned slightly. "Really? But there's nothing there. Just desert."

"Have you been?"

"Yes. It's a strange place. There are maybe two houses, both inns. No-one lives there, only visitors."

Loki scoffed. "The innkeepers must live there if there's somewhere for visitors to stay."

"Not for long. The one I stayed at, the owner had been there six months and was trying to move on. And she'd stayed through four owners at the other one."

There was something troubling about this.

"Why did you go there, Thor?"

He frowned. "I... I don't know. I just... Something about it called out to me. But when I got there, it was nothing special."

The hook. The primal draw. It calls the blood. Even Thor's, it seemed.

"If you don't want to go back..." Loki began.

"No. I don't want you going there alone."

"Why not? I can handle a village."

"No, I know, but I... There's just something about that place, Loki. It's hard to describe. There's something very...upsetting about it. Are you sure that's where we need to go?"

"I think so. But I could be wrong. Which is why our first stop is here."

He stabbed his finger into the map. Thor dutifully looked.

"The grand library of Alfheim?"

"Last chance to back out."

He expected Thor to rise to his teasing tone, but his concerned expression didn't so much as flicker.

"No. If you're going anywhere near Mitrenia, I'm coming too. I don't think it's safe there. For anyone."


	9. Chapter 9

Loki sometimes wondered whether ordinary people ever got the right to travel outside the realm. It was difficult enough for himself and Thor, even though in theory they could go wherever they liked.

Of course, maybe it was due to their habit of abusing that right that it seemed difficult to get out without interrogstion...

"We're going to the main library in Alfheim," Thor said when questioned. "We want to study some of their rarer books, the ones we don't have copies of."

Loki glanced sideways at him. Lying by omission, Thor? Hmm. 

Typical that he would get away with it. Heimdall still seemed rather suspicious as he opened the way for them though.

"Be safe," he said wearily. "And if you must be reckless, at least try to be a little careful."

They landed about a mile outside the elves' capital city. It was a pretty place, even Loki had to admit that. These elves aimed for buildings that seemed to have grown naturally, teasing and twisting living trees to their whims. It was very different to the gold fetish and obsession with fountains that characterised Asgard's architecture.

Anyone they met on the road greeted them politely. The main characteristic of the light elves was their vibrancy. They glowed with health and vitality, so unlike their deathly cousins in Svartalfheim.

Loki found it difficult to believe that such people had ever fostered a vicious cult of death, but then again, as he looked at the warm skin passing him and the lush green of their cities, he could easily imagine a deep-rooted fear of decay.

And that's what it had been, really, hadn't it? An attempt to defeat death. To have the life-death-birth cycle without that one crucial element.

Small children eyed them shyly, curious and a little worried about these strange men, bright white eyes looking out from dark skin. Thor waved cheerfully to them, which seemed to do little to help their unease, generally sending them running to hide or cringing away into a parents' shoulder.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Thor asked, taking deep breaths of the clean, fragrant air.

Loki hesitated. "Evidence of the temple. In a way."

"In what way?"

"Apparently the building has been lost mainly because its key is nowhere to be found. So it depends on what we find out, on if there's any word of where the key has ended up, whether we go to Mitrenia right away or if we have other stops to make first."

"I hope we do. We could tour the whole realm. It'll be fun, searching the deepest depths for keys and lost temples... Where do you find out about this stuff anyway?"

The lie tripped smoothly off his tongue, like it had a thousand times before. "I read about it somewhere."

Thor nodded, apparently satisfied. His arm snaked its way around Loki's waist in a manner that couldn't possibly be comfortable with the heavy bag pressing on his wrist.

"Do you think anyone will recognise us here?"

The suggestion was obvious in his voice.

Loki hummed. "I think that if two Asgardians were seen kissing in the street in Alfheim, it would feed back home, with detailed descriptions. We would both be in extremely serious trouble."

"Ah, but you're so clever you wouldn't let us be seen. You'd magic up a screen or render us invisible or change our faces or..."

He grasped Loki's wrist suddenly, pulling him between two buildings that were almost growing into each other.

"...we could just hide for a minute."

This was stupid and risky, both because they might be caught and because it wouldn't be the first time Loki had let someone go further than he'd meant to in an alleyway. But this was Thor, looking at him with so much affection and playfulness that he practically lunged for it, pressing his brother back against a wall and taking control.

Thor let out little happy hums against his lips, enjoying the sensations, the weight of their bags forgotten. A few moments had passed before he managed to break free, panting just slightly, his eyes wide.

"You have to... Have to stop. You'll make me hard."

Loki laughed. "Just from that?"

"It's you. There's something about you that just...taps into something, I don't know."

"Well, thank you for warning me. It would probably be frowned upon to be visibly aroused in the streets."

They stumbled back to the road, pausing to straighten each other's clothes.

"You know," Thor said thoughtfully. "Libraries have lots of nice, quiet corners. Little private places where visitors could sneak off and find seclusion..."

"They do," Loki agreed. "So I'll tell you what will happen. You go and get us rooms at the nearest inn while I go on ahead to the library. Come and find me, and for every hour we spend toiling among the books, I will allow you one kiss."

"Only one?"

"Well, you almost got hard off the one I gave you a moment ago. It's for your own safety that I moderate the supply."

Thor grinned. "I would probably have taken more readily to further study had I had such incentive. But you realise this may tempt me to delay our search and spend days and days demanding payment, concealing the solution to our quest from you."

"You could," Loki said, ponderously. "Except for the small matter of the key."

He leant closer to Thor to whisper in his ear.

"Because when we have the key, brother mine, I may just feel ready for you to fuck me."

Thor stared at him before shaking his head.

"You are so strange, Loki. I have given up trying to understand you. This key is so important that you would give yourself to me for it? It's worth your first time?"

"Are you saying that when we find it, you won't touch me?"

Thor sighed. "No. Norns save me, if we were to find it..." He looked around before pointing further along the road. "If we found it under that rock, right now, I would take you right here in the street if you but said the word, and damn the consequences."

He watched as Loki skipped ahead and deliberately kicked the stone aside, examining the earth beneath it carefully.

"Nothing here," he said. "Shame. I wonder if you would have done as you claim."

"Only if you wished it."

What Loki wished for more than anything was to be able to throw the key in Mephisto's face and laugh and laugh while Thor took him under the stars. Or in his chambers. Or in the baths. Or behind a curtain somewhere. The where didn't exactly matter, seeing as it would presumably be the first time of many.

"Anyway, I'll get the rooms," he heard Thor say, plucking his pack from his back like it weighed nothing. "And when I catch up with you, I shall expect my first payment in advance."

He turned away, grinning again, his concern about Loki's 'virginity' either forgotten or more likely pushed aside for the moment, leaving Loki to continue onwards to the great, ancient forest that served as the home of the elves' library.


	10. Chapter 10

It was an extremely green library. That was Loki's first impression. The gaps in the trees had been covered in paper, which had then gathered a light layer of moss. The natural light filtering in all had a faint tinge to it.

He wandered around for a while, through the history section and religious texts, but found nothing of interest. It wasn't exactly surprising. If they'd gone to the trouble of hiding the temple, then it made sense to conceal all reference to it.

Which meant he needed help from someone in the know.

The first librarian he came to looked at him with eyebrows raised in surprise.

"From Asgard?" she asked, perched on a stool that was too high for her.

"Whatever gave me away?"

"We don't get many unannounced visitors from other realms. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

There was a little bit of real curiosity in her voice, which he decided to exploit if he could.

"Well, sometimes it's best not to make a lot of fanfare. Discretion is very important to me. You'll barely notice I'm here. Though when my brother arrives, I doubt you'll miss us. He's about so tall, yellow hair, carries a hammer..."

She might not have recognised him straight away, but there was barely anyone in all the realms who wouldn't recognise a description of Mjölnir and the one who wields her. She leapt to her feet, almost falling from her chair to bow deeply.

"My Lord, please, if I can be of any assistance to Prince Thor or yourself, do not hesitate to ask."

"How wonderful. Our own personal librarian, one who knows the importance of subtlty. We would be most honoured to receive your help with a rather sensitive matter."

She waited for him to continue, frowning slightly as he playfully walked his fingers across the polished surface of her desk.

"We seek the temple at Mitrenia," he whispered, letting his lips quirk into a crooked smile.

The elf stiffened instantly.

"There is no temple at Mitrenia. And never was."

She couldn't meet his gaze.

He slipped into his most convincing tone. "Come now, we both know that's not true. And there must be some information on it, somewhere. It would be a great help if you were to...show me."

She looked at him with great mistrust. Perhaps his reputation preceded him. Attempts at flirting his way into what he wanted evidently weren't going to work here. A change of approach was needed.

"Of course, Thor will be very grateful if you help us..."

And now she was torn. Thor's reputation for attractiveness must have arrived here too. She just needed a little push...

"We're just a little curious about it, that's all. And you can imagine how my brother gets when he's focused on something. So passionate, so involved. He's quite the force of nature at the best of times and it's very easy to get almost overwhelmed by him."

She was gnawing on her lower lip now.

"I'll get in trouble," she said softly.

Loki leant closer to whisper.

"Don't worry. We'll be very, _very_ quick."

What he could really do with now was...

"Loki, there you are. Any luck?"

He span on his heel. 

"Absolutely perfect timing, Thor. It seems the books we need are under restricted access, but fortunately this young lady has agreed to help us."

It was like a choreographed routine. Thor beamed at the librarian, raising her hand to his lips, proclaiming his thanks. She blushed and smiled shyly at his attentions. Loki couldn't bring himself to be jealous.

 _Poor little fool,_ he thought. _You don't realise that he only has eyes for me._

The elf - Afrun, he thought she'd said - took them cautiously to a distant part of the library, where the trees grew thick and glow worms provided the only light. It made even Thor look a little sickly.

Stopping at an apparently random section of plant, she drew a hand over a vine, muttering something. A simple passing word spell. If he'd known where to look, Loki could have undone the enchantment in his sleep.

Thor had the presence of mind to look appropriately impressed. Or he genuinely was. It was a little hard to tell.

"I really shouldn't be letting you back here," Afrun said. "It's forbidden. But as it's your majesties... I'm sure it will be all right."

"Our thanks," Thor murmured, taking her hand to graze it with his lips again. "Truly, we are in your debt."

From the look of her, Afrun could think of a variety of ways in which Thor could repay her. Or at least a number of positions in which to do it.

She left them in peace once inside, the door closing invisibly behind her.

Thor turned to him, beaming.

"Where's my kiss?"

Loki huffed slightly. "What's the magic word?"

"Not exactly my area, brother."

It was impossible to resist being drawn into Thor's arms, though Loki obstinately refused to kiss properly to begin with, at least.

"Please..."

"That's better."

And now he opened his mouth and let Thor take his payment, pressing forward greedily. Not that he minded being the centre of Thor's world. He was less than inclined to turn away, but time was short and research couldn't wait.

"We don't have long. Get it found, and I'll make it up to you tonight."

Thor looked at him with smouldering eyes and lunged towards the shelves. They were very dusty, as if no-one ever came here. Thor produced a history book, a missive on religions of the area, some kind of geographical listings and a slim volume that simply bore the title 'Mitrenia'.

The history book seemed like a good place to start, but it was obviously kept here for some other reason. Mitrenia was only listed as an 'unpleasantness'. The religious text was similarly unhelpful.

Thor had started with the small book and seemed engrossed. His lips were slightly parted, eyes flicking back and forth over the page.

Loki was reaching for the maps when Thor stopped him.

"Do you know what it was?"

"Hmm?"

"This...temple at Mitrenia, do you know what it was?"

He could lie, but there was no point. Not to Thor. He obviously knew now anyway. Loki sighed.

"A death cult."

"A slaughterhouse," Thor said, thrusting the book under Loki's nose. "Look."

There were drawings. Very detailed drawings. Loki felt a little sick looking at them, but he kept turning the pages, page after page of neat script. Surely there would be clues in here.

"I need this book," he murmured. "Distract the librarian for me."

Thor looked nonplussed and shrugged at him.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Loki tore his eyes away from the text to look at him in disbelief.


	11. Chapter 11

"What do you mean 'how'?" Loki hissed. "She finds you very attractive."

Thor blinked. "She does?"

"Of course she does. Practically everyone does. Now get out there and do your whole Thor thing so I can sneak out concealing this."

"What 'whole Thor thing'?"

"Oh, for... Here, I'll show you. I'm you. You're her."

He reached out and cupped Thor's neck, trying to deepen his voice and add more sincerity to it.

"Thank you," he said, almost managing to match Thor's tones. "I only wish there was some way I could repay you for the help you have given us. If only we had more time..."

He leant forward, Thor matching him until the last second when he suddenly veered off.

"You want me to kiss the librarian?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course. Stop playing dumb, you know what I'm asking you to do."

"I don't want to kiss her."

"Thor, for goodness' sake, it's not a betrothal. You're adding a little spice to her life. She'll get to tell her grandchildren about the day she kissed the mighty Thor. Not that they'll believe her."

"But I don't want to. I only want to kiss you."

By the Nine, he was serious...

"Thor, please. It means nothing."

"Kisses mean nothing?"

He sighed. "It's different. When you kiss her, it's a means to an end. But when we kiss, it's special. Because we love each other. Do you see? There's more between you and me. For us, kissing is a physical representation of our bond, but with anyone else it's... It's not a sexual thing if you kiss someone else with no feelings involved. I won't be angry. I'm asking you to do this."

Thor still seemed deeply unsure.

"And just think," Loki said, going for a last ditch attempt at convincing him. "When we get to the inn, I'll have to remind you again of how I taste. I'll have to kiss you so long and hard just to set things right, to make sure that you know..."

"Fine. Fine, I'll do it. But this is unfair. Why don't you have to kiss any strangers?"

"Because strangers don't find me instantly attractive, now get out there."

Thor kept mumbling about things being unjust as they softly pressed at the place where the door had been, letting it yield and open for them.

Afrun looked panicked, rushing to pull them away from the hidden room, even though there was no-one to see them.

"I should never have done this," she said. "I'll lose my work now for sure..."

She went quiet as Thor placed a hand gently to the side of her neck, Loki still heading purposefully for the exit. He distantly heard the very words he had used as a demonstration being recited as he slipped out into open air.

He waited for Thor outside, relieved when he emerged with a stormy expression and marks on his face and not an angry librarian in tow. Loki tried hard not to laugh when he realised the marks were stains from the deep brown lip colour favoured by elven women.

"She touched me," Thor growled.

"And I'm sure it was very enjoyable."

Thor scrubbed his hands over his face, only succeeding in smudging the lip prints.

"It was not. I agreed to a kiss, not to a grope."

"Come on, Thor, she was pretty. A few weeks ago you'd have gleefully followed her lead."

"A few weeks ago I had no hope of you ever returning my feelings and made do with what I could. Look, can we go to the inn now? I wish to bathe."

He seemed genuinely hurt and Loki was quite perplexed that he seemed so shaken by an over-eager partner. Nothing serious had happened. Kissing her was merely a means to an end and shouldn't worry him so.

And then Loki thought about the rumours of Thor's many love affairs and then to Thor's admission that he had sought comfort in the flesh of others to distract from his real desires. Maybe sometimes he hadn't liked it. Maybe sometimes he'd got along with proceedings merely to keep up appearances.

Part of him felt guilty for having made him do something he didn't wish to.

He meant to speak to Thor about it, but his concerns were quickly forgotten when they arrived at their sleeping quarters.

"There's only one bed."

Thor sighed. "Yes. It was the best I could get. It seems to be a busy season."

He caught sight of Loki's worried face.

"Don't be scared. I'm not going to try to do anything."

Well, no, of course he wouldn't. It wasn't him Loki was concerned about, but himself. It would be all too easy to make mistakes, let his guard down, make a move, and of course Thor wouldn't stop him. Maybe he'd ask for confirmation that he was sure, but that would be all, and this whole trip would be for nothing. Loki had to stay strong and resist.

"It's fine," he made himself say. "Enjoy your bath. I'm going to read a little and see if I can uncover any clues."

The book was none the worse for wear having been carried under Loki's coat. Any dogears were pre-existing. And surely if they kept this book so carefully hidden, it might be convenient for it to go missing.

Within a few paragraphs, he realised it was from the temple itself. It had been written by an anonymous scribe, recording the plans and experiments and results of the priests and priestesses.

To be honest, Loki was a little surprised that there even were priestesses. Evidently the draw of immortality and fascination with death were not gender based. He found his mind flicking to Sif and how she threw herself into battle as readily and intensely as all the male warriors, the valkyries and how they prided themselves on quick kills.

None of them would ever have been part of this though, of that, he felt certain.

The cult had started slow. They were practically a hospice, caring for the old and infirm and trying to uncover the secret of death that they might learn to defeat it altogether.

Nothing was conclusive. The scribe had diligently recorded tables of weight differences of bodies before and after passing. But they weren't sure what the results meant or if they had anything to do with the death of the aged or with all deaths.

_The decision has been taken to speed up the process. Those who have no hope are to be sacrificed for the greater good. Not only will this aid the work, but it will spare them suffering._

Huh. Well, it had a faint degree of logic to it at least. The identity of the person who decided there was no hope and how they came to that conclusion was questionable though.

He read through some more chapters as the hospice became more of a hospital, inviting a wider range of patients. Victims. And as the experiments began to move towards undisguised murder, the scribe began to write his (or her) misgivings.

_The truth is that they are deranged. I only write so that you might understand what happened here. They are buying people. More arrive every day. I believe they come from the slave markets of Svartalfheim, but I cannot be sure. They arrive with such hope. They do not know what awaits them. They do not know..._

"Loki?"

He jumped.

"Didn't hear you come in."

Thor eyed the book nervously.

"You were distracted. But I need to talk to you."

That sounded ominous and Loki forced himself to put the book aside, trying not to notice the echoes of long-forgotten screams that were circling in his head.


	12. Chapter 12

"It's about what you said in the library," Thor said.

Loki shrugged at him, at a loss for what he was getting at. He'd said a lot of things and nothing specific was springing to mind needing to be discussed.

"When you said that strangers don't find you attractive. I just wondered if you really believed that."

"Oh, that? Well, I... I don't give it much thought to be honest."

A lie. He knew that he had a certain draw. Nothing so obvious as Thor, but a subtly intriguing sort of attractiveness that some people found irresistible.

"Because it's not true. I see people looking at you all around. You're very beautiful and..."

"Thor, please stop. I'm not some... Some young boy who needs to be told he's handsome to sooth his aching rejected heart. Besides, I don't really care what anyone else thinks. Very few people's opinions matter to me. Your opinion, for example. I care what you think."

Thor approached, taking the book away and laying it on a chair in the corner of the room.

"I think....that we've both read quite enough about Mitrenia for one day," he said. "I assume you plan to head out there tomorrow and, if so, we should get some sleep."

Well, he was right, but damn it, Loki wasn't ready for sleep. The book had fired him up a little. He was ready for plans and action. But all the same, he obediently changed into his sleeping clothes - the more layers the better to stop him accosting Thor in the night - and slid awkwardly beneath the sheets.

"If you're uncomfortable..." Thor began.

Loki rolled over to shut him up with kisses. He ended up on top, wrapped in Thor's arms, kissing him breathless. He felt precious with Thor's hands running carefully over him, not trying to push things along any further or skip under his clothes, just trying to make them both feel good. He lost himself in the glide of tongues and gentle suck of lips.

Eventually though, Thor politely excused himself, half waddling off for privacy. The part of Loki that was proud to have such an evident, obvious effect on his brother was overshadowed by his irritation that they couldn't act on it.

He shoved his hand beneath his clothes, imagining what they would be doing if Thor was still here and they were free to follow their desires. 

For a start, he'd be naked, and Thor would kiss him all over, leaving stubble rash across his skin. He'd touch him with sure but gentle hands, looking at him with wonder in his eyes as he took in every inch of bared flesh.

Loki stroked himself with long, firm pulls, pretending that larger, rougher hands were upon him, just imagining Thor's eager, hungry gaze turned upon him, grinning as he lowered his head and opened his mouth...

"Ah..."

A few faster strokes, all-but forcing out his own orgasm, and he spilled. He probably should have thought this through better. At least he could magic the mess away.

Not that he had the chance to do so before Thor burst back in.

"Are you well? I heard a noise. What are you doing?"

Well, he couldn't exactly pretend that he hadn't been doing anything, not when he was lying there slightly out of breath.

He drew his hand out from beneath the sheets, showing the evidence of his climax clinging to his fingers.

"You're not the only one in need of relief, brother."

And now Thor was on the bed again, grabbing Loki's wrist and taking his fingers into his mouth to suck and lick them clean. For a moment he could only stare, mouth open.

"Norns, Thor..."

"Sorry," Thor said, stopping immediately. "I'm sorry, I should have asked first."

"No, it's not... I just didn't expect you to be so filthy."

Thor grinned at him, leaning down to brush their noses together.

"You don't know the half of it, little brother. But maybe we could 'find relief' in the same room next time."

Loki desperately wanted to say yes, but knew he couldn't.

"I don't think I'd be comfortable with you seeing me yet."

And that was the wrong thing to say. Now Thor would be sure of his theory that Loki's poor self-image was the problem. 

"Size doesn't matter, Loki."

He jerked into a sitting position. "What? I... What?"

Thor stuttered. "I just mean that if... If you have a very large cock, it's nothing to worry about..."

"Oh, please. I know what you meant. For the record, it's perfectly normal sized."

"I'm willing to bet that it's perfect, at least."

No, no, no, he was not allowed to earn forgiveness so easily. Loki huffed, turning his back, face burning.

"Can I hold you?"

Loki sighed. "Yes. I suppose so."

It was irritatingly pleasant to fall asleep in Thor's warm embrace.

They must have rolled apart in the night though as Loki woke early, the first trickles of dawn creeping in.

For a while he just lay still, listening to Thor's steady breathing. But if they were moving out today, it would be nice to at least have a vague idea of where they were going.

He slipped silently over to the chair where Thor had placed the stolen book, flicking ahead to a later page.

_The starved man continues to moan helplessly. His counterpart, the one fed but not given water, died far faster, delirious by the end._

_They have started to gag some of the patients in an effort to stop the horrible noises they make._

_The smell has begun to be unbearable._

No help there. There was not even a mention of the building itself or where it might be. Skipping further, almost to the end, he stopped on a page where the shade of the writing suddenly changed from black to an inconsistent brown colour.

_I have run out of ink. Forgive me that I have used the only liquid readily available to me that I might keep writing._

_They say we are in the final stages now. They are wrong. It does not work. IT DOES NOT WORK. SHE LIES._

_When you find this, please forgive me. If you find this. We are so deeply buried now, already in our graves. I fear we will never be found._

_I grow weak, but I would rather die like this than have the process done to me._

_They are coming. They are coming for me._

_I'm sor_

Without realising it, Loki had curled in on himself, his breathing speeding up.

"Loki? What's the matter?"

He looked up at his brother, suddenly desperate to see evidence of life and vitality.

"This book," he managed, throat dry. "The end of it..."

Thor got out of bed and padded over to him, taking the text from his unresisting hands.

He dropped it immediately, the papery slap of it hitting the floor echoing.

"Is that...written in what I think it is?"

"If you think it's written in the scribe's own blood, straight from the vein, then I fear you are correct."

Thor looked at him, fear in his eyes.

"Why are we doing this, Loki? Why are you so determined to find this awful place? I see the misgivings in your eyes. Don't lie to me. Please, just tell me why it's so important."

The silence stretched a little too long.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't discuss it here," Loki said quietly.

"Stop trying to avoid the question. I don't push when you say you've 'just read something somewhere', but please credit me with the intelligence to realise that's code for when you don't want to admit to something."

"I'm not trying to avoid it, but if you want me to tell the truth, it would be better if we were away from easily breakable furniture."

Thor stared at him in horror. "What is it?"

Loki shuddered, trying to shrink even further into his chair.

"You're going to hate me," he whispered.

And then Thor was kneeling beside him, his face soft but worried.

"No. I could never hate you. I love you. No matter what it is, I can handle it."

Loki couldn't bring himself to return the kisses.

"Please can we leave? I promise, I will tell you, just not here."

Obediently, Thor gathered his things and they set out onto the road, a slightly unpleasant peace falling between them. Loki managed to put it off until Thor suggested they stop to rest.

His gaze was heavy on the side of Loki's face as they sat down by the side of the road.

"Remember that I told you you'd hate me."

"Remember that I told you that could never happen."

Loki sighed.

"How long have you been in love with me?"

Thor frowned. He evidently hadn't expected such a question.

"I don't know. A while. Years, centuries?"

"And why didn't you tell me?"

A nervous laugh. "Are you joking? I was disgusted with myself. To feel such things for my own brother? It's... It was unthinkable. But then you showed me that you felt the same. It can't be wrong if it's both of us, surely"

It was now or never. Perhaps once Thor knew, he would still want to help. Maybe he'd understand.

"I made...a mistake. An awful mistake. I didn't know that you loved me. And so I meant to cast a spell on you."

"What kind of spell?"

"A spell to...make you love me."

Thor stared at him, but said nothing, so Loki plunged on.

"Anyway, it didn't work. You already loved me so it was pointless."

Thor had looked away.

"You tried to force me," he said, quietly. 

"No. No, no, I was just trying to make you see..."

"You tried to make me love you. Would you have lain with me? Against my will?"

"No, I..."

"You would have changed my will for me."

He got up and started pacing, feet kicking up dust.

"I... I have been...not forced exactly, but I have done things against my will before, Loki."

Loki said nothing, just dropped his gaze to the ground.

"I said that I agreed to it, but truly I wished I didn't have to. I had a reputation. It was expected of me and I don't... The details aren't important. But afterwards I remember lying there and thinking about you and how if only you returned my feelings I wouldn't ever be in such a situation again. And you tried to put me there without my knowledge even."

Loki now stared at him in horror. Who dared? Who dared lay their hands on Thor, who dared presume?

"But I still don't understand. What has this to do with this awful temple?"

Might as well get it all out. They'd been through the worst of it already.

"I could not make such a spell alone. I need to pay the...person who prepared it for me. Even though it didn't work, I must clear my debt. And my debt is the key to this temple."

Thor was looking at him with a hint of disgust that burned Loki to the core.

"Why does this person want the key?"

"Because he lost something of his there, maybe a dozen millenia ago."

"A dozen millennia? Loki, who is it? What are we dealing with?"

"A demon, all right? I made the oldest error in the book and I am sorry."

He watched as Thor walked away and stalked back, over and over.

"This is the only option? I thought demons liked the many tasks thing."

Loki put his head in his hands. "It's the best option. Otherwise he either uses my flesh in the most base of ways or he..."

"What? What happens?"

"He wants to watch the first time that you and I...make love together. He will have us as his personal show. And I... I can't bear that thought, Thor. I cannot. You and I, we deserve something..."

"And that's why you have refused my advances?"

"Yes. Believe me, I want nothing more than to be with you emotionally and physically. It's been agony to turn you down."

"Are you really a virgin?"

Loki sighed. "No."

Thor nodded vaguely.

"Are you..." Loki asked. "Are you disappointed?"

"That you're not untouched? No. I don't care about that. I'm upset that you tried to purchase my love from a demon who has now ransomed your flesh and instead you're willing to hand over the key to a temple of horrors in which he lost something. Has it not occured to you that this could be dangerous not only to you but to the realms themselves?"

And now Loki was angry, getting up to be on the same level as his brother.

"You think I don't realise that? I have made a mistake which I am trying to fix. I don't quite know what I'm going to do, but I will think of something. Unless you want to throw me to the ground and take me here? Save the trouble and get it over with."

Thor gripped his shoulders and for just a second Loki feared he'd gone too far. He'd pressed too much. Thor might actually snap, might actually...

He found himself pulled into Thor's arms, a firm embrace.

"You'll think of something, I know it. I am still angry, but...we will make this right, together."

"You hate me," Loki muttered. "I knew you would."

Thor sighed. "I am angry and upset. That is not the same thing. I still love you, but I am deeply distressed by your actions. Give me time, Loki. I need to think on this."

He pulled away, even as Loki tried desperately to cling to him.


	14. Chapter 14

They continued on their way, the air cleared a little but still with a heavy feeling of betrayal hanging in it.

Loki could see Thor's point, that was true enough. He had tried to do wrong. But had it been... Had it been so very bad? He had thought of it as nudging Thor in the right direction, not forcing him into anything.

But it was very easy to think of it that way if you were the one doing the nudging and not the one being nudged.

And he hadn't known of Thor's history, and Thor clearly didn't want to discuss it. Maybe that didn't actually matter and he would still have been angry, but that fact made it more raw.

"I'm sorry," Loki said eventually. "I was blinded by my own love for you. I should never have tried to alter your mind. It was a gross violation of your trust and I am deeply sorry."

Thor hummed gruffly. "Well, now you're in rather a lot of trouble, so I suppose the universe is trying to teach you a lesson."

"So you forgive me?"

He took Thor's silence as a no.

"So what was your plan?" Thor asked instead. "Once you got the key, what were you going to do?"

Loki kicked a stone along in front of them.

"Get key. Hand over key. Fall happily into your arms for the rest of eternity."

"And it is just the key he wants?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, we wouldn't have to tell him where the temple was, right?"

"I'm sure he knows anyway, but... Oh. Oh!"

"What?"

Loki grabbed him to place a loud kiss to his lips, upset or not.

"You're worried about him getting hold of some kind of weapon. Well, then, we find the key but before I hand it over, we destroy everything inside. Then he can't do anything about it and my debt is cleared."

Thor seemed unsure. "Is that wise? I mean, they are not our horrifying ancient artifacts to ruin."

"The elves pretend this didn't happen, so we'd be doing them a favour. And besides, which is worse, destroying a few antiques or letting a demon get hold of something potentially dangerous?"

"I suppose you're right. What do we really know about this place anyway?"

As it turned out, not much. Loki relayed all that he knew of the history of the place, the killings, the experiments, the false belief that they had found the secret to immortality.

"It's stupid," Thor said.

"It's stupid to want impossible things?"

He was trying to tease and Thor sighed heavily, unwilling to rise to it.

"It's stupid to lie to yourself. They told themselves they were working for the betterment of the universe, but they were just murderers."

"Is that not one of the definitions of war?" Loki asked, daring to reach out and run a hand over Mjölnir's head, enjoying the little hum of recognition that vibrated under his fingertips.

Thor flinched as if he'd felt it. 

"I suppose it is," he said. "But I'll at least claim that I've never killed one incapable of fighting back. I read some of the book. It talked of chains and ropes, throwing bound people into freezing water or boiling oil or flames. What could they learn from that?"

Loki shrugged. "It also described being underground. I don't think we're looking for an invisible building - we're looking for a hidden entrance to a catacomb."

"A tomb," Thor said bitterly.

When they finally arrived at the inn in Mitrenia, Thor asked for a room with separate beds.

Loki clung to his blanket in the night, trying and failing to convince himself that Thor would forgive him soon.

The next day was grey to match his mood, though the weather was far more likely to be listening to Thor. He supposed he ought to be glad that it wasn't stormy. That at least suggested that he wasn't enraged. But maybe disappointment was worse.

Not getting kisses in the morning was definitely worse. He'd only had them for a short time and suddenly not to have them again hurt a lot more than it should have.

"We should go looking for the door," Thor said, not even looking at him. "It might be the best clue about the key."

"I'm going to bathe first."

Thor shrugged and flopped back down on his bed.

Loki couldn't even bring himself to masturbate. It wouldn't feel right with Thor lying unhappy only a few rooms away. The inn was half full with confused-looking travellers, lost and perplexed as to how they had arrived there. They all seemed very docile and quiet in a way that somehow set Loki's teeth on edge. There were no crying infants or playful children, no laughter or loud speech.

He was thinking this over as he went back up to their room.

"Thor, the last time you were here, did you notice anything strange about your fellow guests?"

"They seemed bored," Thor said simply. "Bored and unsure. And they all went for walks and came back with even less purpose than they left with."

Loki frowned to himself a little.

"Did it strike you as odd, that they all walked?"

A sigh as he sat up. "At first, no. There wasn't much else to do. And then I realised they were all going in the same direction."

"And did you? Walk with them?"

"Well..." And now his eyes seemed glazed, as though he was trying to remember something from long ago. "Yes. I did. I was curious to see if there was some monument out there that I had not known of. But they simply walked into the desert and wandered back and forth for a while and then came back."

Loki pounced on the bed.

"It's the hook," he said excitedly. "Something about this place, a place where many people died, it just draws visitors. It calls the blood. That desert space must be right above the temple. Come on, it will be easy."

Thor got up and obediently followed him out of the inn, tracing the footsteps of another group in front of them.

"I've never heard of such a thing, Loki," he said after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"People are interested in death. And murder, for that matter. But to be drawn somewhere they didn't even know exists? It seems...strange."

Loki shrugged. "Maybe it's primal. It's amazing what the body can unconsciously sense."

Thor made a faint noise. Loki wasn't sure if it was agreement or not.


	15. Chapter 15

It was easy enough to find the place. It was the area with all the people milling around aimlessly. Every step closer made Loki somehow uneasy and Thor was frowning as though in pain.

"Are you unwell?"

A slow blink. "Headache. I feel like... Like someone is whispering to me constantly and I can't hear them properly so I am straining my ears. But at the same time I can hear nothing but the crunch of our feet on the earth. Which is strange in itself."

"Hmm?"

Thor pointed back the way they'd come. "Mitrenia has buildings and therefore trees. In front of us, I can see more. There is no reason for there to be a desert here that I can see."

He crouched and ran some of the dirt through his fingers.

"Can someone kill land?"

"I'm not sure. I think so," Loki said. "There are certainly spells to destroy plants and to make earth infertile, but to do it on this scale and so permanently, you would need dozens of magic users. And I don't see why you'd want to."

"To discourage people from ever coming here. I think it's a warning."

Loki looked at all the people wandering unseeing around them.

"Not an effective one."

The visitors all seemed to be within one area and Thor began to drag one of his feet around the outside, marking the perimeter. Loki was mildly impressed by this show of practicality, walking silently beside him.

"It doesn't seem very big," Thor said, when he'd reached the beginning of his marks again.

"I suppose we don't know how far down it goes. It might be like an ant hill, you know. All corridors and hidden chambers."

"Please don't. It's bad enough that we have to go in without thinking about what's down there. I'm expecting bodies, I don't want to think about living things."

"You don't have to, you know. This was my mistake and I should fix it. You could just go home."

Thor looked at him in a way that made his heart ache.

"I'm not leaving you here alone. It's too...unpleasant. And besides, maybe in your shoes, I'd have made the same error."

Loki shook his head. "We both know you wouldn't. You'd have suffered on forever rather than risk losing what we had as brothers."

"But I know little of your kind of magic. Maybe with that knowledge I would have..."

"Stop. Stop trying to sink to my level. You wouldn't have tried to affect my mind in such an intrusive manner and you certainly wouldn't have asked a demon for help. That's not how your brain works. And it's irrelevant anyway. I did it. I did something wrong and stupid, like I always do. That's what matters. It's my fault we're in this mess."

He started walking the path again, looking for anything that could indicate an entrance way. After a few moments, he felt Thor's hand on his shoulder, making him turn and look him in the eye.

"Don't talk about yourself that way," he said. "You have no idea how much it pains me to hear you be so disparaging about yourself."

"Oh, please. You tease me about my magic use all the time. Don't pretend to have such regards for my feelings."

Thor stepped back as though struck.

"I didn't know it hurt you so. I thought it was like when you would make fun of me, calling me an oaf and warning me not to destroy the palace with my great lumbering bulk. Did you mean those insults truly?"

"Mostly I was trying to distract myself from the fact that I want that bulk in my bed. Intent doesn't change effect though."

"Well, I am sorry for every way I've ever pained you. Will that please you, if I admit my wrongs and apologise?"

"I don't want your sorrow, I want your forgiveness for what I did, what I tried to do to you."

Thor went quiet for a little while and Loki turned away from him again.

"You see? I have ruined this. I took away our chance of happiness with my own selfish nature and now you will never forgive me and I only have myself to blame. I can't even get disgusting, wrong, _incestuous_ love right and you'd have thought there was enough trouble there already. Norns, sometimes I truly wish I was dead..."

The ground suddenly shook beneath his feet, the sleepy people around them seeming to wake before running for cover. Loki realised with horror that he was sinking into the sand and lunged forwards in an attempt to escape the hole he was trapped in.

"Loki!"

He barely heard Thor's anguished cry, hardly felt the slight brush of his fingers trying desperately to grab hold and save him, before the earth closed over his head and everything went dark.

He couldn't tell how far he fell, digging his nails desperately into the sides to no avail, landing in an open, dark chamber with a grunt. It was not as hard a landing as it could have been and for that he was grateful.

"Thor?" he tried desperately, getting only the sound of his own voice echoing. "Thor, are you down here?"

He struggled to his feet, not injured as far as he could tell, and summoned a little witch light to look around.

Examining the ceiling was useless. There was no sign of where he had fallen from, nor of any dirt on the moss-covered floor. It seemed to have healed up, swallowed him and then closed. Moreover, there was no sign of Thor, presumably still on the surface.

The chamber was solid around three walls and had a narrow corridor leading off from the fourth.

With nothing better to do, Loki set off down it, pausing momentarily to draw a luminous arrow on the wall. He distantly remembered learning this spell and how he had drawn glowing patterns all over his walls so his chambers were beautiful at night, his own secret.

Of course, Thor had found out and begged for the same to be done to his room and then he had shown Sif and before Loki knew it he was being lectured about not drawing on walls, even with magic.

"Gone this way" he wrote underneath, hoping that if anything found it, it would be friendly.

The witch light flicked around him, betraying his fear, as he set out into the darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

It was very clean, as scary murder temples went. Loki had expected bones to be crunching under his feet, maybe blood caked onto the walls and the long-concealed stench of decay to permeate the air. But at first, there was nothing but soft earth and the scent of the mosses and lichens growing on the walls.

He walked through seemingly endless corridors, stopping to leave an arrow any time he changed direction but finding nothing.

The silence was oppressive.

His thoughts began to tangle and overflow into one another.

He would die down here, all alone, alone without Thor, Thor, Thor left by himself, mother, father, Asgard, no more sunlight, no fresh air, all alone, in his tomb already...

It might have been hours before he noticed the doors on either side of the corridor he was walking along. The moss growth had almost completely concealed them from view.

And seeing as he had nothing better to do while waiting for death, he pushed at one.

Inside was a bed of sorts, any sheets or mattress long rotted away to leave only the wooden frame. There were what seemed to be metal shackles attached at one end and Loki drew back in horror. There was the blood he had expected, staining these iron rings. Evidence of someone's desperate struggles to escape.

Despite his disgust, he began pushing doors open at random, drawn to inflicting further distaste upon himself, finding one filled with cramped cages, one with a pit, one with ropes hanging from the ceiling, one with large spikes, one filled only with surgical instruments, one that showed signs of frequent intense burning...

And then he started to find the bones.

They were neatly organised, which made it easier for some reason. A room of femurs, a room of tiny finger bones, a room of what looked like shoulder blades, these were less horrifying to deal with than whole bodies somehow. Harder to count. Harder to quantify. Easier not to think about individuals.

The room of skulls was a little more overwhelming. Loki closed the door quickly and tried not to focus on their cold sightless sockets and shining teeth, locked in horrible grins forever.

Beyond, there seemed little to betray the slaughter. He came across many far smaller rooms filled with papers. Curious, he pulled a scroll from the pile, drawing his light closer to make it more legible.

_Room 27_

_Patient 143 deceased. Replaced by patient 166. Possessions: a few coins of little value; necklace of dubious origin; clothing (burned)._

The whole page continued in this manner, cold emotionless files detailing the arrival and deaths of all the victims he had just seen. No names. Nothing recorded but the day they arrived, the room they occupied, the number assigned to them and the objects they carried.

There was room after room of these records. And at the end of the corridor, he found her.

Really, he had no reason to assume the figure was female, other than a large pendant resting on the sternum, which really meant nothing in a religious setting. The skeleton was small admittedly, but that didn't mean much. There was just something about it that made him assume. It was the first full body he'd come across, lying on the ground in an almost peaceful attitude. 

There was a small glass inkwell forgotten on its side next to the body, and Loki fancied he could see something stickily congealed at the bottom of it.

"It's you, isn't it?" he whispered, his own voice sounding very loud. "You wrote the book."

He could just imagine her, desperately cutting into her own flesh to gather enough blood to write her last confession while outside the screaming grew ever closer and louder.

Had she lain down quietly to die? The sudden end of her writing, mid-word, suggested otherwise. It seemed more likely that someone had carefully laid out her corpse. One of the priests or priestesses for whom she had worked? Or whoever had taken her words and hidden them in the great library, leaving her body to decompose down here?

Somehow he couldn't tell which was worse. He only hoped it had been quick and relatively pain free.

Part of him was strangely tempted to kiss her bare skull. He felt almost like he knew her, that she was a friend. She had written down important things, had written down the facts and had given her life for it without flinching...

How different she was from him, dying for the truth. Here he was, trapped by his own attempted trickery, his own selfish need, but soon enough they'd be just the same. Just cold, forgotten bones.

When the time came, as it inevitably would, he would crawl back here and die beside her. Spending eternity lying beside a near stranger was better than being alone.

He was wondering how long he would have to wander the corridor before dehydration set in when he heard the sobbing.

No-one could be alive down here, surely. Unless it was someone dragged down in the same sinking as him. Yes, that was possible. Perhaps it had been some kind of landslide pulling them in. Maybe he wasn't alone, maybe...

He tried to follow the sound, sending his light on ahead, searching for a figure.

"Hello?" he tried. "I hear you. Where are you?"

He was going down, he knew it. There weren't steps as such, but he was definitely on a slope, the weeping growing louder the further down he went.

"It's all right," he said, not believing himself. "We'll be fine. We will get out. Tell me where you are."

No response, just more shuddering sobs. He kept going, down and down, coming into an open room with a figure crouched in the centre.

A female figure.

And not an elf.

Loki couldn't believe what he was seeing, sending the witch light closer, trying to be sure that it was just a trick of the darkness. Because it couldn't possibly be...

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Loki."

He fell to his knees, unable to support his own weight with the shock.

"Mother."


	17. Chapter 17

It's not real, he told himself. This cannot be real. It's just a shadow. Just a dream, just the remains of a long-cast spell. She isn't here, there is no way for her to be here, it makes no sense, she _can't_ be here...

"I am ashamed of you, Loki."

He cringed to hear her voice, so full of pain and disappointment, choking slightly on her sobs.

"We took you in. We made you our son, made you a prince, gave you all that could be wished for, and this is how you repay us?"

"I'm sorry."

It slipped out reflexively, before he was able to still his tongue. The shade of Frigga laughed joylessly, standing up, towering over him in a way she hadn't since he was a child. The way she only did in his nightmares now.

"You're sorry? Our little cuckoo is sorry? You have tried to tear this family apart from the inside for too long. You have done your level best to usurp and destroy us, weaseling your way back into our home and hearts every time only to turn on us again. And you have the gall to claim that you did it out of love, to prevent an even worse event, which now you turn to gladly. Your sickness, your shame. He is your brother, Loki. How can you think of him in so depraved a way? Your own _brother._ "

Loki forced his eyes up, meeting the glassy ones that glared down at him. They had none of the vitality or sparkle that the real Frigga's had. This was a poor imitation when examined closely, even if the voice was spookily accurate.

But since it had to be just a shade, he could argue back with impunity. He was going to die down here anyway. Might as well go down fighting.

"But he's not my brother, is he? You made me your son? Then un-make it. Set me free and let us be together since I am not your son and he is not my brother."

Her enormous hand rained down upon him, passing straight through his head. It was like a freezing wind blowing through his brain, shockingly painful, like being shoved into a bucket of ice. It was not an experience that he had any intention of repeating.

"Do not lie to me," she growled. "You know it to be true. You think of him thus and likewise he does you. Do not dare tell me that you will not call him brother when he makes you come, writhing on his cock. Do not pretend that you will not delight in making him scream it out as you drive into him, smiling at your own perversion as you fuck your golden sibling."

It was awful, disgusting to hear those words so viciously spoken in his mother's voice. He felt his face flush.

"Leave me alone. You're not real."

"We should never have taken you in. We should have left you to die. You mean to corrupt our Thor..."

"He doesn't need corrupting. He shares my sickness, if you call it that. He loves me too."

The terrible laugh came again, mocking him.

"He pities you, you little Jotun fool. You cannot truly believe that the mighty Thor could ever love one such as you. You are the viper in his heart and he lets you suck his life blood out of kindness now, but one day he will rip you from his breast for his own safety and toss you aside having learned his lesson."

"No. He loves me. And I know that to be true. Shadows and tricks cannot make me doubt."

He didn't give her time to reply, turning and fleeing the chamber, trying to climb upwards, back towards the room with the dead scribe in it. She was real and solid and dead. She was a friend in the dark. A dead friend, but better that than ghostly enemies.

His way was suddenly blocked by an enormous blue figure. 

"You are not here," Loki said firmly. "You are dead, blood-father. I killed you myself."

Laufey shook his head.

"Odin should have followed my lead and left you to die. Think how much better the world would be without you. How much better Asgard would be, were you not there to spread your wickedness."

Loki threw himself at the shade, screaming at the pain of having his whole body pass through. He kept running, ignoring more figures who all intoned his uselessness, Odin, Heimdall, Hela, his first tutor, his first fuck, his first riding instructor... They were not real, they were not here, they were not real, they were not here...

He'd nearly made it back to the corridor with the scribe's room when the sight of one of the figures finally made him stop.

He slumped back to his knees, giving up and weeping.

"Not him," he mumbled. "Please not him."

In front of him, Thor was standing, very still and defensive.

"Stay back," Thor said. "Don't come near me, monster. Don't touch me."

Loki curled in on himself. This was the worst thing he could imagine. He could handle all the others, but not utter rejection by his brother. Not Thor telling him that he was worthless, not worthy of any feelings at all. He wanted the ground to open up again and swallow him, choke him to death. He cried helplessly, wondering a little why this torture had come to him when he was so close to the end already. But he supposed he deserved it for a myriad of sins.

"Well?" Thor asked. "Have you nothing to say to me?"

"I'm sorry," Loki sobbed. "It's my fault, it's all my fault..."

He tried to sink into the floor by sheer force of will as he heard heavy footsteps approaching, and hunched in on himself even further, waiting for the pain to start.


	18. Chapter 18

Loki whimpered, waiting for the shade of Thor to start beating him, the cold hands to start slowly killing him, but they did not fall.

"Loki?" he heard Thor say softly. "Is it really you?"

He looked up to find Thor looking terrified instead of angry and reached out to touch his hand. Thor nearly drew back from him, but was soon grinning and hauling Loki up into an embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you," he babbled. "And I have been seeing things, such awful visions coming out of the dark to torment me, and I thought you were one of them."

"I did too. Oh, Thor..."

They kissed sloppily, trying to chase away their fears by clinging to something warm and real and alive.

"How did you get here?" Loki asked, suddenly drawing back. "How did you find me?"

"Dug," Thor said, holding up one of his hands.

On closer inspection, his fingers were bleeding, the skin torn up by the rough sand.

"You dug through all that earth with your bare hands?"

Thor looked slightly embarrassed, as though being told of a drunken escapade that he couldn't recall. 

"It was like a fever upon me. I saw you vanish and I began to dig, desperate, feeling that I would die without you almost. It was like being in my rage. I couldn't stop. I didn't even notice the pain until I landed and your arrows told me which way to go. And I'm sorry, Loki, I'm so sorry..."

Loki blinked.

"Whatever for? For coming to rescue me?"

"No, but the... The people showed me everything I did wrong, every time I have used my strength for wrong purposes, every way that I hurt you and made you feel lesser and..."

"Stop. Don't pay attention to them. They're trying to make you despair, trying to exploit your fears so you want to die. I know because they got me too. They told me that you didn't really love me, that you only pretended to out of kindness and they said that I should have been left to die in Jotunheim to prevent me spreading my incestuous corruption to you."

He said it casually, even though the words still echoed horribly in his mind. Thor stared at him in shock before pulling him into his arms in an almost harsh, crushing manner.

"They lie," he said. "Do not believe them. I love you. For as long as I can remember, I have loved you. It is not corruption, or if it is, you did not put it there. I think I was always going to love you, whether we were brothers or not."

"The mighty Thor in love with the runt prince of Jotunheim?"

"And the second prince of Asgard. And the witch king of Svartalfheim. And the ruler of the underworld, the sorcerer of Midgard, wherever fate had sent you, I would love you."

He had no way of knowing this, but it was a nice sentiment and Loki happily held on, feeling Thor's heartbeat against his own, burying his nose in his neck to inhale the rich, earthy scent of him, something so familiar and so sweet and so loved.

Tilting his head found Thor's lips pressing to his again, neither of them particularly wanting to break apart. Loki, however, was suddenly acutely aware of their surroundings, and drew back first.

"We should... We should try to find whatever Mephisto wanted to retrieve and destroy it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it has something to do with the shades that just plagued us."

"Mephisto, so that's his name. I shall know who to curse for every second we are down here."

Loki was faintly troubled by that, but pushed it out of his mind as best he could as they began to descend again.

There was no-one at all in the room that had contained the shade of Frigga. His witch light flicked nervously around all the corners to check and Thor seemed to pick up on his unease, reaching out to grasp his hand.

"Do we keep going down?" he asked. "There doesn't seem to be another way. What a strange building, not to have clear levels. Like a maze."

"I imagine it was expanded rapidly, simply burrowing down to make more space as they began to run out."

He very consciously didn't push at any of the doors on either side of them. Going lower was making him feel sick, physically unwell. That was probably a good sign that they were headed in the right direction. Demonic instruments were not meant to be fun.

"I found the scribe's body," he said, just to distract himself.

"I know," Thor said. "You left the door open. And for one awful moment I thought they were your bones, already picked clean by this place."

Loki laughed in spite of himself, the corridor making it reverberate back at them.

"I'm much taller. And such ostentatious jewellery just isn't my style."

Thor was even smiling now, gripping his hand more firmly and squeezing just a little.

"It will take time for me to get there fully, but please know that I am starting to forgive you," he said quietly. "You made a mistake, but... I cannot be without you. I've had some perspective brought to me down here. I can't waste any more time. Once we get out of this, I'm going to take you home and lay you in my bed and love you forever."

What could he say to that? His heart felt like it was going to burst, nothing seemed enough, no words had enough weight.

"Thank you," he said, knowing it wasn't enough. "That means more than I can tell you."

But Thor wasn't listening. His eyes were staring off, staring at nothing, suddenly glazed.

"Thor? What is it?"

A long pause. Thor blinked rapidly.

"Strange sound... Can't you hear it?"

There was no sound, not that Loki could hear anyway. Thor drew away, walking as though sleeping, fingers slipping away from Loki who had no choice but to follow.

"What kind of sound?"

No response. He strained his ears, laid amplification spells upon himself, but could hear nothing. It was a trick, another old temple spell perhaps, but his desperate words went unheeded. Thor walked and walked, down and down, steadily and unknowingly towards the very heart of the temple.


	19. Chapter 19

Down and down they went, Thor becoming even less responsive. Eventually, the floor levelled out and the corridor began to narrow. Loki wasn't sure how Thor was managing to fit, but he was. It was almost as though the laws of perspective and dimensions were rearranging themselves to let him through.

Just when Loki thought he would get stuck, never mind Thor, they came into a small open chamber. Despite the small size, he felt as though he could breathe finally, the claustophobia subsiding.

Until he saw the red light being eclipsed by Thor's shoulders. And became aware of the sound.

"Thor? Thor, is that what you heard?"

No reply. Thor kept moving steadily forward, towards the pulsing object in the centre of the room.

"Thor, stop!"

He was able to see it clearly now. That blood red hue, that constant thumping noise.

There was a large, glowing, beating heart hanging in the centre of the room, linked to the ceiling by a network of roots and arteries.

They needed to get far, far away from this.

He threw himself uselessly in front of Thor, trying to stop his relentless march.

"Don't touch it. For Norns' sake, Thor, we don't know what it is."

He'd never been strong enough against Thor physically, not enough to win a fight, not enough to beat him and now not enough to save him from whatever this was. He strained and fought, slamming his hands into his chest, feet scraping on the ground as he forced all his strength into it.

"Please, Thor..."

Desperate, he slapped him hard across the face, hand stinging afterwards.

Thor blinked, looking down at him and the tears in his eyes. His eyes flicked over to the heart, the strange light shining on his face and making him somehow monstrous.

"What is that?" he asked. "What magic is this?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it was calling to you. I think it might have been calling to everyone else too but now that we're closer to it..."

"Not you though. Why not you?"

Loki hesitated. "I honestly don't know. Maybe my seidr interferes with it somehow. How does it feel?"

He watched with trepedation as Thor began to circle the heart curiously.

"Very unpleasant to start with. Like a buzzing you can't identify. But then... Suddenly sweet. Comforting. Telling me that everything was all right, everything would be fine if I just came down here, if I just came closer."

The heart's beating grew more rapid as Thor reached out to it.

"Don't touch it! It might be dangerous."

"Gosh, Loki, a mysterious object in a temple full of dead people might be dangerous. Thank my lucky stars I have you to keep me safe. I just wanted to see if proximity did anything."

"Well, it does, now draw back."

He didn't, just stood with his hand inches away.

"Is this Mephisto's heart, then?" he asked.

"What, his actual heart?"

"Why not? You said he was a demon after all. Maybe they can do such things."

Loki was beyond desperate now. Beyond desperate to get Thor out and away from this thing that had capitivated him so.

"We could always ask him."

And that got Thor's attention, finally moving back. The heart glowed angrily as it's beat slowed. Loki couldn't shake the feeling that it was jealous of him, angry that he was getting in the way.

"What do you mean?" Thor asked? "You're going to summon him?"

"Why not?"

"What if he takes it? He could wreak havoc with..."

"Oh, Thor, you never did understand summoning, did you? He won't physically be here. Or not really. He'll be make to look, see, touch, but he can't take anything back with him. It's my spell. I bring him in, I send him back, nothing more and nothing less. And maybe we get answers."

Thor nodded uncertainly.

"All right. Perhaps I'd like to look at whoever sent us here after all."

Loki started drawing the magic circle on the floor in the dust. He kept a close eye on Thor. He clearly couldn't be trusted right now. The heart had some kind of hold over him.

The still air was suddenly whipped up by Mephisto's arrival.

"This had better be important, Laufeyson. If you're just trying to get out of our deal again, I'll... Where in the realms are we?"

"Welcome to the temple at Mitrenia," Loki said, spreading his arms wide. "It's a simply delightful place, as you can tell. Now, any idea what that is?"

Mephisto followed his indication and swallowed hard.

"How did you get in here?" he asked. "No-one knows where the door is, and even if you found it, it's long destroyed."

"I fell," Loki said, confused when Mephisto laughed at him 

"Oh, you idiot. You expressed a wish to die, didn't you? I always knew that dramatic flair would get you in trouble. It thought it had a willing victim and dragged you down."

"What is the heart?" Loki repeated. "What is it for?"

"That explains you, but what about Blondie? Surely no rash suicidal threats there. I notice he's not surprised to see me. Told him the truth, have you?"

"What is it? Is this what you wanted to retrieve? Will it do in lieu of the key?"

Mephisto started pacing.

"Let's be square, Loki. There is no key. You were meant to read about this place, realise what a death trap it is, angst for a while but then give up and hand me front row tickets to your long-awaited consummation. There is no key. There is nothing here I want."

Loki glared at him. "You sent me on an impossible task that you knew I would fail? I think that makes our little contract null and void."

"Actually, I was merely sticking to the terms of our original understanding. You may recall it. You gladly signed up to it after all. One love spell for free viewing of the first act. A gentlemen's agreement, if such a term applies to either of us. You were the one who started trying to wriggle out of it despite fair payment."

He could practically feel Thor's stare at the back of his head.

"Oh, dear," Mephisto said, grinning. "Did you leave that little detail out of the story, how willing you were to do it at first? Oh, Thor, how sad for you. Then again, I doubt you're surprised that the little liar has once again... No, stop! Don't!"

Loki turned just in time to see Thor viciously ripping the heart from its suspension before everything went dark.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been informed since yesterday that I am a queen of evil cliffhangers and would like to preemptively apologise for...basically every chapter ending from now until the last one. Sorry not sorry.

Loki's first thought was that he was not dead.

His second thought was surprise at this fact.

"Thor?"

"Ugh... Yeah?"

"Oh, good. It would have been very irritating to have to travel through Hel to yell at you for that little stunt. We could have been killed. Maimed."

"Well... We're not. Can you made a light, please? I can't see a thing."

Groaning, Loki waved a hand to conjure a witch light. It was a little difficult to survey the damage from where he was lying. Off to the left he could see Thor, craning his neck to look around. He offered a small wave.

Loki's head hit the earth with a rather painful thump as he laughed helplessly. They'd survived. Again. Once again the universe smiled on them, it seemed. There was the sound of shuffling and then Thor flopped down next to him.

"Where's Mephisto?" he asked.

"Back in Hell? Typical that he'd vanish at the first sign of potential danger. Probably most upset that you interrupted his monologue. I'll be hearing complaints about that for centuries. Where's the heart?"

"Gone. It crumbled to dust in my hand. And then, you know... Exploded."

They lay in silence for a few minutes, focusing on their breathing in the quiet.

"I thought you'd be terribly angry," Loki said. "Because I never mentioned the first deal. The one I agreed to at the start of all this."

"Well, I just risked our lives on a hunch so I guess we're just about even now."

"What hunch?"

He felt the shrug.

"That ripping hearts out of things tends to kill them. It was trying to make me give up hope. I could hear it whispering lies about me, you, our parents... It was trying to make me want to die. It said if I touched it, I would know peace, I would die. So I decided to kill it instead."

Loki stared at the surprisingly intact ceiling.

"Are you suggesting that it didn't call out to me because it thought I wanted to be dead?"

"Well, you said it. You didn't mean it. At least, I hope not. But magic does tend to be rather literal, doesn't it? Or maybe it's like you said, that your magic got in its way. I don't know what it was, I just know I wanted to stop it. Can't you feel that it's stopped? It's so much nicer now."

Now he thought about it, Loki did feel like a weight had been lifted. There was something free in his chest.

"Thor, are you seriously suggesting that the thing drawing people to this place and that made us see those dreadful visions and made you utterly insensitive to almost everything in the world was an enchanted heart which you have just destroyed by being reckless?"

He sighed. "I don't know. You're the smart one. You know all about these things."

"What things?"

"Magic and necromancy and so on..."

"Excuse me, I know nothing about necromancy. Just because I dabble a little with demons and other abominations doesn't mean I mess with the dead."

"Well, there you go," Thor said, sleepily snuggling into his shoulder. "It could be necromancy. We should...read..."

He yawned heavily.

"Oh, no, you don't," Loki said, shoving at him. "I know you're tired, but we're not sleeping down here. Come on, get up."

They struggled to their feet and staggered out, supporting each other as best they could. They didn't seem to be injured badly, just a little bruised from the impact.

Every step closer to the surface was a minor victory. The air seemed clearer, the horrors not as present. It was still a spooky place to be, but it was dulled slightly by the passage of time.

Loki insisted on stopping in with the scribe to pay his respects. Of course, her skull had not changed its expression, but he fancied that she was at least a little more at rest.

As they got closer to where he'd come in, following his arrows backwards, Loki suddenly turned to Thor in a panic.

"Wait. How are we going to get out? It's straight up."

Thor merely grunted, holding Mjölnir up in answer. Loki was slightly concerned by his sluggishness, but put it down the adrenaline crash following his berserker digging through the earth.

He certainly managed to carry Loki out well enough, clinging to his side for dear life before finding that the sun had set in their absence. The elves had put up a small rope cordon around the area to give a warning about earthquakes and sink holes.

"Are you not completely starving?" Loki asked as Thor gingerly landed on the road and set him down.

"Not noticably. But I suppose I ought to eat."

He was used to Thor being ravenous all the time between meals. Perhaps he was right to worry, having to coax Thor to finish even the small plate their hosts managed to provide at such a late hour. 

Getting him clean was another struggle. Any glee that Loki would have expected to feel at getting to strip Thor naked and soap him down was negated by the fear rolling through him at the way his eyes kept flickering shut.

He tipped Thor into bed, shoving his own close enough to make it nearly one. 

The second he was beneath his half of the sheets, Thor rolled over and pinned him with one of his arms, nuzzling into him.

"I love you," he mumbled. "You need to believe that."

"Yes, Thor, I know. You can sleep now. It's been a long day. You'll feel better in the morning."

It really had been. For all that he wanted to stay awake to watch over his brother, Loki soon fell into an exhausted stupor.

When he woke up, Thor was barely breathing.


	21. Chapter 21

He shook Thor's shoulder violently, only getting a groan in response. He didn't have a fever or any other signs of illness, he just wouldn't wake. Staff came running at the sound of his increasingly panicked cries.

"Healer," he said. "Get me a healer, now. And a skilled magic user."

"I'm sorry," the man at the door said. "We're so isolated here. The nearest medical facility is several towns over."

Loki struggled to stay calm.

"Just get them here as soon as possible, please."

He threw open his bag once they were gone, trying to find anything that might help from among his equipment. But he'd never seen this before, he didn't know what to do, he needed help...

The chalk was in his hand suddenly and he threw the room's rug out of the way to draw on the floorboards. The circle was more of a shaking scribble but it did the job.

Mephisto arrived looking slightly nauseous from the jerky summoning and looked at Loki in surprise.

"Payment for our bargain already? I'd have thought there'd be further negotiations to come. Not that I'm complaining..."

Loki had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. He'd probably lose a hand if he tried.

"He's... He's sick and I don't know what to do. Help me, please. I think he's dying."

Mephisto sighed. "What part of the whole demon thing don't you understand? I harvest the souls of the damned, I lead into temptation, I erase children from existence just for fun. And you think you can appeal to my...soft side?"

"I'm not asking you to save him. Just tell me what's wrong with him."

"He messed around with a powerful magical object without protection, that's what's wrong with him."

"What is it doing to him?"

Another heavy sigh and Mephisto approached the bed, lifting Thor's eyelids to look at his dilated pupils and examining one of his hands.

"Hmm. It hasn't spread too deeply. There is still potentially hope for him."

A wave of his hand brought flickering images of a heart. For a moment Loki assumed it was the one from the temple, but the sluggish irregular beat didn't match.

"Thor's heart," Mephisto said. "Left ventricle, right ventricle, valves, arteries, et cetera. Now your problem is right...here."

He'd turned the image and made it larger, pointing to one area of greying flesh about an inch across.

"What is that?" Loki asked.

"It's a parasite. The temple heart fed upon the lifeforce of others. It leeched what it could from the people walking above, called to anyone full of life in the vicinity to bring them closer. And Thor, well, what a feast of vitality. It wanted him to touch it, it wanted him close, that his life might elapse in its presence and feed it. If he'd just touched it, it would have taken him, killed him in minutes."

"So what happened when he ripped it out?"

"Well, really, if it was so easy to destroy, wouldn't the elves have done it centuries ago? They knew how dangerous it was, so they destroyed the entrances and tried to conceal all evidence that there was ever a temple at all. It wasn't the slaughter they were trying to hide; after all, every civilisation has some kind of mass murder in its history and they chalk it up to individual evil or group delusion or whatever. No, this is what they were trying to hide. The heart of Ekarthia."

Loki shook his head. "I'm not familiar..."

"Well, of course not. Why would you be? Remember when I told you the elves were mistaken about their so-called cure for death? Well, one of them did become immortal. Ekarthia was the fifth high priestess of the temple, one of its very best minds, and the product of her experiments was learning how to steal life from others. Her victims died and she grew ever stronger, strong enough to cut out her own heart and attach it to the root system of the building itself, feeding from every death in the temple. Immortality, as long as the victims kept coming."

"What happened?"

Mephisto chuckled. "Well, she was caught. You can't keep live hearts hidden very long. And, of course, a woman walking around without her heart - for all that her blood had begun to congeal in her veins - was the sign they'd been waiting for. And then she got greedy. She promised to show them all how to do it, to teach them the secret, knowing that she would feast. Somewhere down in the depths of that temple is the room where the priests and priestesses lie having cut out their own hearts. But they did not know the right spells and so they died and she remained. But with no more priests there was no more temple, and she grew weak. Her body rotted until only her spells and her constantly thumping heart remained."

"And what was the right spell? Do you know?"

"Oh, there was something to do with an object that kept her at least magically connected to her heart to make her flesh keep going. Probably nonsense. Anyway, your problem is that having disconnected the heart from the temple, it's burrowed its way into Thor as a defense mechanism. It will probably kill him."

"Probably?"

"Well, Ekarthia was a very intelligent and shrewd woman. She might be trying to come back from the dead. You must have noticed that the heart was capable of strange things?"

Loki frowned. "Yes, it showed us visions. It read our minds. Preyed on our fears. Focused on drawing Thor close for some reason, I suppose because it wanted to...eat him."

"Hmm. It's possible that she's trying to possess him. The Thor you know and love will die and then his body will rise again. The second coming of Ekarthia. I wonder if she knows just what a body she's managed to land in. I mean, look at him. She won't need to lure victims with magic any more. They'll fall at her feet and suck her off before she kills them."

Loki's whole body had gone cold. This was his fault, it all was. And now not only was Thor going to die, a life-sucking monster was going to live in his body.

"How do I stop it?" he asked breathlessly. "You said there was hope to save him."

"Rather outside my expertise."

"Please! I am begging you. You must have some idea..."

"Oh, and you're so pretty when you beg. I do have a book which may help you, but you know I can't give you it for free..."

"What do you want?"

Mephisto looked at him and patted his head vaguely.

"Actually, the sight of your suffering is enough. But I will say this - no more trying to get out of our deal. If you save him, you'll take him to bed the second he's strong enough, let me watch, and we'll say no more about it."

He vanished before Loki could respond. A few minutes later, a book landed with a thump in the middle of the circle, only slightly burned from its time in Hell.

Loki swept the ash and dust from the cover and laughed helplessly to stop himself from crying.

_Desperate Necromancy for Beginners_


	22. Chapter 22

Necromancy was explicitly banned in Asgard, and oddly enough it wasn't a law that Loki had ever felt the desire to break.

It was a dangerous business. For a start, it was hard to verify who you were really talking to. The dead don't exactly carry identification. And then there was the danger of possession and before you knew it there were people being murdered by the dead over things their ancestors had done and it all became very messy.

Travelling physically into the underworld was all right, because then you only had to deal with Hela and her whims and what she might be willing to trade for a soul, but sending your mind in to talk directly to the deceased was asking for trouble.

Loki flicked through the book, annoyed that it didn't seem to have a contents page or an index. Not that he would know what to search for.

Possession? Maybe. He scanned down the page, various precautions against becoming possessed in the first place. And yes, there was the warning against touching strange objects. Oh, Thor, why didn't you listen?

Finally he came to something potentially useful.

_To communicate with a possessive spirit, the use of an object belonging to them can be helpful. The familiarity can draw them to the surface. This object may be clothing, jewellery, books, tools etc but must have high sentimental value. Bringing spirits up can be dangerous as they may harm the victim's physical body, but it will distract them from attacking the inner person._

_In some cases, the visiting spirit can be verbally convinced to depart. If not, see chapter 37 for cleansing rituals._

So he could buy more time for Thor if he could find an object belonging to her. And Mephisto had also said something about an object that she used in her magic. But none of the bodies had...

Wait.

Oh, no...

He was rushing out of the inn in an instant, begging the staff to send someone to look after Thor.

"Keep him hydrated and warm. I will be back very soon."

He ran as fast as he could out towards the temple, the area completely devoid of people now, and hurriedly untied one end of the warning rope, dragging it over so he could lower himself carefully back into the darkness.

Had it really been only yesterday he was here? The nightmare visions seemed a lifetime ago.

His arrows still glowed brightly, guiding his steps down to the long corridor, towards the scribe's room.

Or not the scribe, of course. All the other bodies on this floor had been neatly catalogued, so why not this one? Unless they were the bones of the person who did the organising. The last person left alive. The ink well merely lay where it had fallen, the scribe's body no doubt one of the multitudes that made up the bone rooms.

He looked down at the skeleton with disgust. He'd put his trust in this body. He'd thought it a friend. But instead it was the physical remains of a monster that was even now trying to destroy Thor from the inside out.

The pendant slipped off easily, heavy in his hands. On closer inspection, the stone was a large, orange thing, roughly hewn. He put it in his pocket and left the bones. Their former inhabitant was no longer here, so he paid them no mind.

It was a struggle to get out again, the sand not affording much purchase to his scrabbling feet, but with effort he managed to drag himself up, barely giving himself time to breathe before he forced his body back along the road.

He found a girl in the room tending to Thor. She looked at him fearfully, eyes flicking between his wild, unwashed hair and heaving chest and the chalk circle still drawn on the floor.

"Are you...trying to save him?" she asked shakily.

"Yes. Please leave. I need peace."

"The others were afraid to come in," she said vaguely. "They think you're cursed by using the forbidden arts."

Loki laughed maniacally.

"Frankly, I might as well be. Thank you for watching over him. I'll take it from here."

She closed the door behind her. She seemed to have combed Thor's hair and washed his face, leaving his skin looking pink and peaceful.

Should the pendant go in his hand? The book was maddeningly unclear, merely talking about 'the use' of an object. What use? Was there a spell he ought to be casting over it?

How did you use a pendant? By wearing it. 

He straddled Thor's unmoving body and slipped the pendant over his head, nestling it between his pectoral muscles, next to his heart.

For a moment, nothing happened. For a moment, he worried, thinking he was wrong. Then Thor's body convulsed, his eyes snapping open and jerking into a sitting position.

Loki found himself on the receiving end of a critical stare and a frown, harsh, hard eyes. Thor had never looked at him that way.

"L... Lau... Lau-kee? Laukee."

He sighed.

"Ekarthia."

It was bizarre to see this creature. It looked...like Thor, he supposed, and yet the way it moved its head and held itself was so very different.

It looked around the room for a while, breathing deeply, before staring at Thor's hands, clenching and unclenching his fists over and over again.

It began to run its hands up Thor's arms, round his shoulders and down to his chest, looking faintly confused, especially when a lock of blond hair fell over its face.

It was carefully examining this new development when Loki decided to speak.

"Look, I'm sure we can work this out like rational..."

He was unable to finish this thought as the not-Thor lunged forward to capture his lips in a bruising kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talking to my sometimes-beta like, "Yeah, I'm writing this fic and suddenly Thor's possessed by a homicidal elven priestess..."
> 
> "Huh. Intriguing. I thought you were writing one about demons and love spells?"
> 
> "Yes."


	23. Chapter 23

Loki found himself on his back, trapped beneath the weight of not-Thor. He struggled desperately, trying to wriggle free, but his wrists were pinned above his head. It was a twisted version of his old fantasies where Thor would succumb to desire and ravish him, a dream turned into an awful nightmare, a fight against a monster that wore his brother's face. This was not Thor. It was Ekarthia as Thor. And she was not used to this body, did not know its vulnerabilities.

"Sorry, brother."

He rammed a knee upwards into the crotch area, rewarded by a pained yell and release from his pinned position. He leapt from the bed, rubbing at his mouth.

"Let's try this again. You are Ekarthia, former high priestess of Mitrenia."

Not-Thor - Ekarthia - looked up at him.

"And you are Laukee, brother of... Thowar..."

She was clearly having trouble speaking, but then again a few thousand years of not having a tongue would do that to you.

Lurching to... her... feet, she gazed down at the body she was currently inhabiting. Loki swallowed hard as she ran her hands lower and lower, laughing slightly at the sight of Thor's cock. It must be strange to have a new angle.

"Mirror."

"What?"

"Bring me mirror. I want to see face."

He conjured one instead. Ekarthia turned Thor's head back and forth, appraising it.

"Handsome," she said eventually.

It was creepy. It was Thor's voice, there was no denying that. But there was something about the accent that was all wrong. Something slightly off about all the vowels.

"Now, look," Loki said, banishing the mirror spell. "You can't stay in this body. It belongs to Thor and you can't have it."

"Why not?"

She was looking at him in a manner that made him deeply uncomfortable.

"I remember you, little brother," she said, speech becoming less slurred as she mastered forming sounds. "This body feels for you. So much...love. Desire. Lust. So confusing. So much want, how I want..."

"Want what?"

"You."

She lunged for him again, but was clumsy in Thor's body, tripping on his feet. Really she was doing an excellent if inadvertent impression of Thor when drunk. He needed to make her talk if he was going to convince her to leave.

"Stop. You are smarter and stronger than this, now think through it. You control the body, not the other way around."

She sat down heavily on the bed.

"You are right. It has merely been some time since I experienced the urges of the flesh. I forgot how strong they can be. What a waste all my training would be if I succumbed..."

"Training?"

She waved a hand vaguely, a very elegant and feminine gesture that was very un-Thor like.

"To become a priestess, I had to give up many things. All the usual sins, the fun ones. But that was so very long ago... Perhaps it's time I gave them another try."

"Not in Thor's body you can't."

He was fixed by another long, cold look.

"Who will stop me? You came into my home and murdered me, ripped out my very heart. I will keep this body as compensation. It is my right."

"But you murdered so many others. Surely you are the one in debt here. I'm sorry that we...caused you to end, but that doesn't mean you can kill Thor. Please leave. You can be at peace. Otherwise I will have to take desperate measures."

She scoffed. "You try to threaten me? I have been alive for nearly twenty-five thousand years. I will not die now."

Loki felt the anger rising in him.

"You haven't been alive," he snapped. "Your body is all-but dust. You've not been alive all this time, you've just been an empty husk, stealing life force from others. And for what? To keep your heart beating. That is no life. That is existing as a mere parasite. You have not loved or learned or read or spoken or felt or thought or done anything, you have just been. And that is not life. It's barely survival."

The slap nearly knocked him to the floor.

"You think yourself better than me? I have seen your mind, little child. You live only to destroy and corrupt. You lie and trick to prove your cleverness. You wonder why I did not call to you? It's because your life is chaos. The fates themselves could not tell how long your life ought to be. You have reached your death time and again, but twist and turn and slip from destiny's grasp to await the great end, the end of all things. You live on stolen time, Loki of Asgard. You are not worth consuming. Inside, you instinctively know this to be true. I feel the minds of all around me. Everyone knows their own worthlessness. And so I take from them what they do not want, their lives. No-one truly wants the pain of living, they're just too scared to face the truth of death."

"Even Thor? You are inside him. Tell me what he thinks of himself."

Her eyes grew glazed as though deep in thought, frowning slightly.

"He has the ghosts of arrogance in him. He is ashamed of how he was, but finds the habit hard to break. He fears himself and his own strength. He longs for wisdom and doubts himself and hides behind a facade of boisterous conviviality. He thinks of you often... Such mixed feelings. Love and distrust. Desire and disgust. Admiration and disapproval. Yes. He longs to have you crying out in pleasure at his hands but hates the longing. And it is so much a part of him that he begins to hate himself. He wishes that he didn't feel but feels all the more when denying."

She blinked heavily, eyes clearing.

"It is a kindness to save him from this empty dream of love. I shall live on until the end of times and then beyond and he shall know the calm of eternity's rest. I shall be Thor now. And I shall live up to the terror that name ought to strike in the hearts of all who hear it."

Being Thor. It gave Loki an idea. Possibly a stupid one, but it might do.

"Really? Then by all means, attempt to be Thor. Mjölnir lies behind you. Lift her. If you are Thor, raise his weapon high and seal your claim."

He watched as she looked towards the hammer and approached it, hoping that this gamble would pay off.


	24. Chapter 24

Loki had seen many people try to lift Mjölnir. He'd tried it himself often enough. Most of the time, she remained a lump of metal, nothing more. With someone she knew, like him, she would sometimes hum as though in greeting, but she would still refuse to move.

He wasn't sure to what extent Mjölnir was sentient. She was essentially an extension of Thor, channeling his storm magic. Thor often described her singing to him, presumably a beautiful melody shared only between the two of them.

Loki was jealous. He would claim that no being anywhere in any universe loved Thor as strongly as he did. But really he knew that he was wrong because Mjölnir certainly matched, if not surpassed, his feelings.

But now someone else was using her master's hands to touch her.

And she was enraged.

The lightning shot up Ekarthia's stolen arm and to the pendant as Mjölnir tried to attack this intruder. There was a scream and she let go, casting desperately at the hammer. But Thor's internal magic, though strong, was only for the storm and not for other spells.

In her frustration, she turned her back on Loki, who took the chance to pounce and attempt to subdue her physically. The surprise knocked her down, but he didn't have the upper hand for long and was soon tossed painfully aside, landing next to Mjölnir.

He stared at the hammer for a moment and then at not-Thor, who was struggling to co-ordinate her new muscles enough to stand.

Please, he thought, scrambling to his feet. Please, you stubborn chunk of uru, please let me...

He closed his hand around the handle and felt the gentle hum that escaped whenever he touched her. Yes. She knew who he was.

"I'm trying to save him," he said out loud. "Please, help me. Just this once, please..."

It was just a hammer. It couldn't understand. It didn't make sense to speak to it.

The humming increased and Loki felt the universe let go. Mjölnir lifted in his grasp, heavy still, but not impossible. He felt the lightning, so _strong_ and hot. How could Thor bear it to have this constantly rolling through his veins?

For a moment, he simply stared, unwilling to believe what was happening. Then he turned and yanked the rug out from under Ekarthia, sending her sprawling to the floor and carefully placed the hammer in the centre of her back.

She spit and yelled, trying desperately to free herself but Mjölnir was as unyielding as ever.

"I'll kill him," she was shouting. "I'll kill your precious Thor. I'll starve him and burn his flesh and flay his feet, I'll scar his skin and pluck out his eyes, break his teeth, tear his nails out..."

Loki deliberately sat down just out of reach of her scrabbling arms and began to read aloud from chapter 37.

"To cleanse a victim of a manevolant spirit, a number of methods may be used. In most cases, the patient will fully recover. By far the simplest is to trap the spirit in an object placed on the skin and then destroy the object."

He looked up to see the effect this would have and admired the desperate struggling, attempts to take off the pendant that was now trapped against the floor by her chest.

Loki followed the book's instructions, using some of the ingredients he'd brought with him to mix a paste with which to draw the necessary sigils on Thor's body. Ekarthia did her best to kick and bite him, but to no avail.

"It won't work, you know," she hissed. "Trap me in the stone and it's only a matter of time before someone slips me on. I will live again and I will come for him and kill him as you watch. I will rise like..."

Her stolen voice slipped into a gutteral groan, body shaking as Loki chanted the incantation. Sparks flew from Mjölnir as the shaking grew stronger, the sheer heat setting light to the leather holding the pendant, burning it to ash.

When he finished, everything went very still.

"Thor?"

A roar and Thor was upright, naked and angry, Mjölnir flying instantly to his hand.

The stone lay on the floor and Loki realised Thor's intention seconds before he brought the hammer slamming down upon it, over and over again, until it was a pile of dust and shards.

He dropped Mjölnir and fell onto the bed, panting hard.

"Well, that was easy," Loki said. "Easier than expected in fact. Are you all right?"

A few more deep breaths. Loki looked closer and saw that he was weeping.

"Easy?" Thor whispered. "It hurt so much."

"What did? The cleansing?"

"I think... I don't think I was dead, I was just...gone. She pushed me out of my head into nothingness. I was alone, with only my thoughts, and I knew that it was my fault, my rash decision that let her out into the world. I saw...terrible things. I couldn't get out. I don't... How long was I gone?"

"Er... I'm not sure. Since this morning, I suppose. Less than twelve hours."

"I feel as though centuries have passed."

Loki clambered onto the bed with him, instantly wrapped in Thor's embrace, trying to ground him.

"Kiss me, please. I need to feel alive."

They'd always kissed for pleasure before. Even in the temple, they had kissed for the joy of finding one another. This was something very different. Thor clung to him like a drowning man, hands sliding over his body. His cheeks were damp with tears, his breathing shaky. The sigils were being smeared all over both of them and the bed as well, which eventually Thor seemed to notice.

"I should bathe," he said vaguely. "But I don't want to be alone. I don't think I'll ever want to be alone again."

"I'll come with you, don't worry. I need to wash my hair anyway."

It was frightening to see Thor like this, lost and helpless. He wrapped a towel around his waist and looked around the room anxiously as though afraid it would change at any moment. Afraid this was yet another vision.

On their way out of the room, Loki gave Mjölnir a quick tug.

Nothing but a vague hum. She had helped him to save Thor, nothing more than that. She might respect him, in a grudging sort of way, but she would never answer to his call again.

"Take care of him," he thought she would say, if he could understand her.

He took hold of Thor's hand and hoped to do just that as they walked together to the hotel's communal bath house.

"We're quite the pair, aren't we?" Thor said, more sure now.

"What do you mean?"

"Neither of us think about safety enough. Maybe Heimdall is right and we are too reckless."

He dropped his towel and slipped into the water.

"I'm certainly regretting a lot of things," Loki said, joining him. "Regretting deals, regretting this whole trip really."

Thor closed his eyes and leant back against the wall, the steam making his hair curl just slightly.

"We stopped a scary life-sucking monster though. Mitrenia won't be calling people any more. Perhaps that is a good thing."

Loki dunked his head, trying to get the dust of the temple off.

"While you were...ill," he started. "I asked Mephisto for help. And he gave it. But he told me that was it, no more chances of annulling the contract."

"So he'll watch the first time we sleep together."

"We could just not. I know we both want to be physical, but given the circumstances..."

"I don't think I care."

Loki blinked.

"You don't care if we stick just to kisses?"

"No, I don't care if he watches. I'm going to be focused on you. I'll probably not notice. Like I said, I feel as though centuries have gone by, empty centuries of nothing and no hope, no... No anything. So I will not let a troublesome demon keep me from the one I love, not now."

Loki felt his heart skip a beat.

"If you're sure, we can do it as soon as we get back to Asgard."

"Mmm. When can we leave?"

Loki laughed, but agreed that they wanted to go home as soon as possible, letting Thor pull him close and hold him tight. The proximity and the warmth of the water seemed to soothe him. By the end of their bath, he seemed nearly back to normal.

The girl who had looked after Thor had just finished cleaning their room when they returned.

"The pile of orange powder," Loki said. "What happened to it?"

She looked at him a little fearfully.

"I swept it up and threw it out onto the dung heap," she said. "I'm sorry. Was that wrong of me? Was it important?"

"No. No, that was exactly the right thing to do. Thank you."


	25. Chapter 25

Heimdall stared doubtfully at them as they arrived back.

"An enjoyable excursion, my princes?"

"Not really," Thor said. "Though I believe we learned some valuable things."

The elf healer had found nothing physically wrong with him and at dinner, he seemed back to his old self, laughing and joking with those around him. There were no tales told of Alfheim however, any questions instantly deflected. What had happened was something he seemed to want kept private, the better to let him forget. Which was fine with Loki. His brief foray into necromancy was not something he wanted questioned or recalled.

Loki could barely eat. It was tonight. The one thing he had desired and longed for and fantasised over for so many years was going to happen. And Mephisto was going to watch, but maybe Thor was right. In the moment, they would only see each other.

"You must eat, Loki," came the familiar chiding from his right. "You need your strength."

He glanced sideways to find Thor smiling at him playfully. Loki carefully slid most of a rib inside his mouth, closing his lips around it and sucking the meat from the bone, letting his eyes flicker shut.

"Mmm... You're quite right, Thor. This is delicious."

He watched Thor's eyes follow his motions as he licked each of his fingers clean.

"I find I am tired after our journey," Thor said, his voice flat as though he was speaking without thinking. "I think I shall go to bed."

Loki just smiled and wordlessly stood to follow him. He could feel his breathing quickening already, his heartbeat fluttering.

Thor pressed him up against the door as soon as they entered his room, heated kisses making him nearly swoon as they ripped at their clothes, eagerly running their hands over every new inch of skin. They ground together, gasping at the feeling of their hardening cocks rubbing against each other.

Before he knew it, Loki was on his back with Thor's weight pinning him down and wait, no, no, he didn't want this, not like this...

"Hey," Thor said. "What's wrong? Too fast?"

"The last time you did this, pinned me like this, you weren't you. I can't... It's too recent."

Thor was off him instantly.

"All right, you go on top then. Let me see how good you look riding me."

Loki moaned, instantly back in the moment and obeyed as Thor urged him to turn onto his stomach and kneel up, producing a jar of salve from one of his shelves.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered and Loki blushed, his face resting against his hands and his ass high and on display. 

Thor's hands were warm and firm, massaging his flesh just a little before a slick finger was pressing at his entrance. He tried to control himself, tried not to push back, but found himself rocking onto one and soon two fingers anyway.

"So hot inside," Thor said, wonder in his voice as he started scissoring his fingers, stretching Loki further and further in preparation.

Heavy puffs of air were escaping Loki's lungs by the time Thor deemed him ready and lay down, applying salve to his cock. Loki was soon in his lap, grinding his shaft through the cleft of his ass and kissing him soundly. This was what he wanted, what he'd dreamed of, Thor smiling up at him as he reached back and lined up and...

Oh...

For a moment he stayed still, getting used to the sensation of being filled, and then something seemed to snap in his mind.

Thor was inside him.

He rocked forwards, Thor's cock shifting within him, feeling so hot and firm. Warm hands settled on his waist to support him as he began to move more surely, nearly bouncing, a gentle slap of skin on skin filling the air.

Thor sat up to wrap both arms around him properly, pressing their lips together and moaning into Loki's mouth. His stomach was becoming smeared with Loki's prespend as he deliberately rocked into the warm wall of muscle.

"I've wanted you so long," Thor whispered against his ear before lowering his face to Loki's neck, sucking little kisses against his sensitive skin.

Loki wasn't sure which of them was controlling the motions. Maybe neither, maybe both. He just knew the intense wave of good that kept flowing through him. His climax was the shore that he would crash on and Thor was the storm urging him ever closer.

He was almost embarrassed by the sounds he made, muffled though they were against Thor's skin. Slightly faster motions and a hand on his cock and a particularly well-timed sigh of "brother" from Thor and he was coming, gasping and whimpering it out and feeling the unmistakable flood of Thor's own completion deep inside him.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, trying to get their breath back. And then Loki started to laugh and Thor was laughing too and they sat giggling, brushing their noses together, filled with such warmth and love that Loki never wanted the moment to end.

There was slow applause from the side of the bed.

"Well done," Mephisto said. "That was almost unbearably sweet. You'd expect incest to be a little spicier. Especially you, Thor. I'd always imagined that you'd fuck like a beast, not all gentle and caring. Still, a deal is a deal and now it's square. Have a happy rest of your lives. Do try to wait a little while before you start trying to kill each other again."

He vanished in a little cloud of sulphur which Loki knew was just for show.

"I'm sorry," Loki said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Any of it."

Thor kissed him.

"But now that he's gone, we can get down to the main event."


	26. Chapter 26

"Main event? Didn't we just do that?"

"What, you think that's all I've got? That was just the warm up. I think we have at least one more round in us. That is, unless you're too tired..."

The challenge was clear in Thor's voice and Loki joyfully threw himself forward, knocking him backwards and claiming his lips again. Freed from any restraint they felt about their first time together, their hands roamed greedily, exploring without care.

Soon enough, Loki found himself on his back, Thor propped beside him on one hand to gaze down at him.

"I want to... I want to touch you. Is this all right, if you lie here for a bit? I won't pin you and if you want to stop..."

"Thor. If I want something to stop, I'll say so. Do whatever you want with me."

He could see Thor's pupils widening at that, his breathing coming in long, steady draws as he settled between Loki's thighs. Loki was reminded of seeing him on the battlefield, gauging distance and motion, planning to strike, hard and devastating.

He squirmed a little under the unflinching gaze.

"Well, do _something..._ "

Thor grinned at him.

"No, no. You said I could do whatever I wanted, and I wanted to look at you. But now I think I want to do this..."

He leant forward, nosing his way up Loki's body from the sharp bone of one of his hips, up the slight valley of his waist and his rapidly rising and falling ribcage before gently taking a nipple into his mouth.

Unable to help himself, Loki arched up into the touch, gasping in surprise. Thor seemed to take this as encouragement, sucking and nibbling just enough for a slight sting to pulse through Loki's body.

It felt almost electric, like Thor had the lightning at the tip of his tongue specifically to subject his brother to this delicious torture.

Just when he thought he could take no more, Thor switched, giving the other nipple the same treatment and leaving the first one to the mercy of the cold air. Loki threw his head back in pleasure-pain and Thor lunged for the expanse of his throat, kissing and licking but careful not to leave a mark.

And his _hands..._ Norns, his hands were so warm and strong, running up his thighs and gripping his hip, spanning his chest, fitting perfectly against his flesh.

"Hard again, yet?" he asked against Loki's neck.

"Not quite."

"Hmm. Well, we can't have that."

Loki nearly shivered as the warmth of Thor slid away down his body, picking him up by the pelvis for a more convenient angle with which to run his tongue along his thickening cock.

His eyes were locked with Loki's, who was having trouble believing that what he saw was real. He'd fantasised about this very situation, Thor gazing up at him with with love and lust written all over his face as he kissed Loki's cock as tenderly as his lips. A little suction to the head had him properly hard, panting just slightly as Thor continued to tease him with short bursts of sucking and sweet little kitten licks.

Two large fingers found their way back to his entrance, slipping through the mess of Thor's seed to ensure he was still stretched enough. Loki keened when they pressed against his prostate, and he felt Thor's chuckle in his very bones.

But what really opened the floodgates was when Thor pulled his fingers out and sucked them clean without a thought, licking up his own spend directly from inside...

"Thor..." Loki sobbed. "Fuck, Thor, fuck me, please. Or suck me or something, please, I want to come..."

Thor lowered him back down and crawled back up his body, ravishing his mouth carelessly, the barest hint of his own musk clinging to his tongue.

"You only had to ask," he said softly, drawing away. "Now... Turn over, little brother."

And suddenly Loki had had enough. He was not going to be played by Thor so effortlessly. Not without fighting back.

"Like this?" he said, trying to sound innocent as he rolled onto his stomach.

"Or like this?" And now he rolled his body back until his ass was once again high in the air.

Thor practically growled at him and the bed dipped where he'd climbed back on.

"Oh, Loki..." he breathed. "Wherever did I get you from, you perfect little thing?"

His cock was hard against Loki's thigh, but Thor was running his hands firmly down the length of his back and it felt wonderful. The obvious response of 'Jotunheim' died on Loki's tongue, replaced by a moan.

"Spread your legs," Thor demanded. "Let me get my cock back inside you."

Propped on his forearms, Thor's first deep thrust had Loki's whole body rocking forward, a little cry of pleasure echoing out from him at being filled once more.

"You like that? You like getting fucked?"

"Like getting fucked by you."

Thor's answering groan was nearly as pleasing as the way he started to pick up speed, the gentle rolling of his hips turning into something more forceful. Loki struggled to contain the noises he was making and buried his head in the pillow.

There was a pause and for a moment he was concerned about something being wrong, until he felt Thor's palms on him again, pushing the cheeks of his ass apart.

"Are you...looking?" he shot over his shoulder.

A slightly guilty expression and then a shrug.

"I like seeing my cock filling you. Is that a problem?"

He punctuated his question with a slow push in and drag out, making Loki feel every inch.

"Only a problem when you - ah! - stop without my permission."

It would have been a stronger command had there not been a second thrust in the middle of it.

"I can't help it," Thor said, setting a horribly slow rhythm. "The sight of your beautiful body yeilding to me. I want to savour it. I want this image in my head aways, your gorgeous hole wrapped so tightly around me. If only I could keep your cheeks spread _and_ hold your hips to give you the good, hard fuck you deserve."

Loki sighed and planted his face sideways onto the pillow, reaching back to grab his own ass.

"You are not subtle at all," he mumbled. "Just give it to me, as much as you can."

Thor's arms brushed against his as he reached for his waist.

"Thank you, Loki. Now. What was it you wanted again?"

His sigh turned into a scream as Thor plunged forwards, hammering into him without warning, filling him over and over again.

Distantly, he could hear Thor speaking, a stream of consciousness really.

"Fuck, brother, you look so good taking my cock. So fucking good. Want to do this forever, never, ever leave this bed again, just stay in you forever, make you come again and again..."

He shifted, trying to angle himself right to bring Loki more pleasure, making him cry out again when he found it.

"That's right. Want to make you feel good. Tell me what you want."

"Fuck, Thor... Pull my hair..."

He had to let go to support his own weight, but Thor no longer seemed to care, firmly pulling on a handful of dark locks and forcing Loki's back into an arch.

And now Loki couldn't hide the stream of moans that fell from his lips, a constant 'ah, ah, ah!' that only spurred Thor on.

"Talk to me, silvertongue," he said. "Is it good for you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's good. Fuck, I love your fucking cock... Touch me, please. Make me come, brother."

It was a strange sensation. His hair was released, letting his head fall forwards again, but the same second, Thor's hand closed around his cock, making him buck desperately.

"Fuck, Loki, I'm gonna come..."

"Just a little more."

He was frantic, hips pistoning to press his cock through the warm channel of Thor's hand and back to make sure that thick dick kept rubbing him deep inside.

Thor was groaning with effort, thrusts stuttering, the first splash of come tipping Loki over the edge, body shaking through his climax.

Behind him, Thor was panting, pulling out as gently as he could and flopping down on the bed, reaching blindly for him.

"Good? What you hoped for?"

"Mmm, yes. Can I always expect two rounds? Three? More?"

Thor laughed. "I don't think I'll be able to keep up with you at this rate," he said. "Next time, you fuck me, yes? Just make me lie back, relax, and take a good pounding."

Yes, that sounded nice. He'd undoubtedly regret not cleaning up in the morning, but for now he was content to lie next to Thor while seed slowly leaked out of his body.

"Oh, and Loki? Two things."

"Mmm?"

"Next time you're thinking of making a deal with a demon, negotiate harder."

Loki snorted. He'd expected something stronger.

"What's the other thing?" he mumbled.

"Just that I love you."

With a large chest for his pillow and warm arms around him, Loki smiled into the first few moments of sleep.

After all, there was nothing stronger than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and sticking with this through all its strange turns. I hope the ending paid off.
> 
> I'm not sure how long it will take me to start posting something multi-chaptered again. I'm currently writing a follow-up to 'Du Riechst So Gut' in which werewolf Loki and his ex-servant Thor try to live and work in the town like normal people. It has parts that I like and ideas I want to explore further, but there are pacing issues and I need to develop a little more plot for it to flesh it into something postable.
> 
> So, yeah, that's coming soon-ish. In the meantime, if I get frustrated with it, there will probably be some shorter things, PWP, one-shots maybe. You know me, I love the buzz of posting new fic (VALIDATION). It won't be long before I have something else, I'm sure.
> 
> Thanks again. Your encouragement means the world to me.


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